Container demolition sales bounced back in ’23, with 87 vessels for a total of 167,000 teu reaching recycling facilities. This is a major rally compared to the 10,904 teu scrapped in ’22 & the 16,500 teu disposed of in 2021.
The ’23 demolition figures remain well below expectations and insufficient to address the rising overcapacity that the container shipping industry is facing, with a staggering 2.3 Mteu of newbuild capacity hitting the water in ’23, twice as much as in previous years.
The majority of cellular ships sold for scrapping in 2023, sixty units, had capacities below 2,000 teu. Among them were twenty-seven vessels of 1,000-1,499 teu, nineteen of 1,500-1,999 teu and fourteen in the sub-1,000 teu sizes.
There were only twenty-seven ships above 2,000 teu sold for recycling, including sixteen units of 2,000-2,999 teu, eight of 3,000-5,000 teu and only three above 5,000 teu.
Source: Alphaliner
