Tanker scrapping activity has crashed at the start of 2019, at the same time as activity has ratcheted up in the bulker market, according to data from a leading Greek brokerage.

Allied Shipbroking said just 15 tankers have been sold for demolition so far this year, plummeting from the 53 tankers beached by this stage in 2018.

Yiannis Vamvakas, an analyst at the brokerage, noted that tanker demolition this year has focused largely on product tonnage, with just two suezmaxes and an aframax pulled from the crude fleet.