Carriers have been increasingly relying on vessel ownership to expand their fleets of container vessels in the last few years, at the expense of chartering.
Piles of cash accumulated during the Covid bonanza years have given shipping lines the firepower to buy more vessels for their own account.
This comes at a time when many traditional non-operating owners (NOOs), especially from Germany, have been in retreat mode preferring to sell their ships rather than embark on significant new projects to renew their fleets.
MSC has been the most striking example of a carrier favouring vessel ownership at the expense of chartering. In the last four years, the shipping line has embarked on a huge vessel acquisition spree, including 88 newbuildings and a mind-blowing 355 secondhand vessels.
While the Geneva-based carrier had over 60% of its fleet on charter ten years ago, the same figure now applies to owned tonnage with the number of vessels on charter having fallen to around 36% only based on Alphaliner data.
Source: Alphaliner
