While the time from Chinese New Year to the start of the summer peak season is traditionally considered ‘slack period’, and despite rapidly declining spot freight rates (represented by the SCFI, FBX and KCCI), carriers are still eager for vessels.
Even with the constant stream of newbuildings that joined the global liner fleet, tonnage supply is tight. Subsequently, the commercially idle containership capacity remained stable at less than 1% of the liner fleet.
As of mid-March, Alphaliner tallied 71 commercially idle vessels with a capacity of 220,279 teu. Compared to late February, the numbers only marked a marginal drop of 12,000 teu – practically negligible. In relative terms, this accounts for 0.7% of the world’s 31 Mteu fleet.
A re-escalation of geopolitical tensions and fighting near the Red Sea has added to the uncertainties that container lines face. At least for now, most carriers will continue to opt for Cape of Good Hope routings. The current vessel diversions absorb more than 1.40 Mteu of ‘extra’ capacity due to the longer steaming distances.
Meanwhile, tonnage tied up in drydock for repair, maintenance or retrofit, stayed relatively stable as well, with only a slight bump of 25,000 teu, compared to a fortnight ago. It settled at 169 vessels for 783,649 teu, representing 2.5% of the total liner fleet.
Alphaliner’s AXSInsights allows you to monitor all vessels either in active service, or commercially idle and in shipyards or repair docks.
Source: Alphaliner
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