The secondhand market for small tankers sees sales volumes grow significantly in the third quarter.

Some vessels changed hands at prices that show their values have not declined as sharply as other shipping sectors.

Clarksons has reported 27 tankers smaller than 32,000 dwt changing hands since the beginning of July.

In the third quarter of last year, the number was 20, representing an increase in market activity by more than 35% so far, with still more than a week of trading left this month.

The buzz of activity stands in marked contrast to the sale and purchase market as a whole, which saw sales activity decline by 18% quarter-on-quarter so far, the data showed.

The small tanker segment saw particularly high activity in recent weeks, with shipbroker Gibson reporting nine vessels sold in its weekly report published on Thursday. Gibson referred to the flurry of activity as “a renaissance of interest in smaller clean tonnage”.