Major British shipbroker Clarksons was hit by the tough parts of the shipping industry in the first months of the year.

"Shipping and offshore is a multi-cyclical business and the challenges witnessed in a number of our markets at the end of 2014, arising from a demand supply imbalance and the reduced oil price environment, have continued into the first half of this year," said Chairman of Clarksons, James Hughes-Hallett in a speech at Clarksons' general assembly on Friday last week.