Heavy deliveries and limited contracting have reduced the tanker orderbook to the lowest level since 2013, Clarksons Research says.

There are presently 632 tankers of a combined 67.2m dwt on order, a 35% drop in tonnage terms since the start of 2016, its data shows.

“This was due to both historically weak ordering in 2016, and firm deliveries, which last year reached their highest level since 2011 in dwt terms,” said Clarksons researcher George Warner.