Tanker scrapping last year surged to its highest level since the mid-1980s, driven by the weakest rates this century.

A total of 21 million dwt was removed from the market, a near 90% rise on the previous year, according to data from the world’s largest shipbroker, Clarksons.

Steve Gordon, managing director of Clarksons' research division, says the 2018 tally is the highest since 1986, which marked the end of a sustained boom that stretched back to 1982.