World container ship fleet is displaying its age, reaching highest common age on report of 14.2 years.
“Container ships have reached their highest common age but at 14.2 years, the best common age of the three predominant delivery sectors. The dry bulk fleet has a median age of 11.9 years whereas tankers on common are 12.8 years outdated,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Transport Analyst at BIMCO.
The typical age of the container fleet has elevated 4.3 years throughout the previous 13 years with the common age hitting a latest low of 9.9 years in August 2010. The two,516 ships delivered, and 1,384 ships recycled since then, haven’t been ample to maintain the common age down.
At present, 21% of ships within the container fleet are actually older than 20 years and thereby prime candidates for recycling within the coming years. Of the ships older than 20 years, the dimensions segments 0-2,999 TEU and three,000-5,999 TEU contribute 76% and 16% respectively, highlighting that fleet renewal prior to now years has been centered on the post-panamax segments.
“Maybe extra importantly, practically 70% of all container ships are over 10 years outdated. All ships constructed in accordance with sluggish steaming ideas thus far, have been delivered inside the final 10 years, permitting for decrease vitality consumption per container carried,” says Rasmussen.
The present order e book nonetheless focuses on the most important ships, and the variety of ships on order within the dimension segments under 6,000 TEU is considerably under the variety of ships older than 20 years in the identical segments.
Within the 0-2,999 TEU phase 317 ships are on order, however 994 ships are greater than 20 years outdated. Equally, the dimensions phase 3,000-5,999 TEU has 210 ships older than 20 years however solely 100 ships on order.
Regardless of the numerous downturn skilled in container freight charges throughout the previous 15 months, recycling of ships throughout 2023 has remained low in contrast with the previous 10 years. Within the first 9 months, 57 ships have been recycled in comparison with 81 on common throughout the earlier 10 years.
“The order e book incorporates 750 ships to be delivered earlier than the top of 2025. Relying on the variety of ships recycled, this could permit the common age to say no and the common vitality effectivity of ships inside all dimension segments to extend. As well as, the share of ships in a position to make use of different low carbon fuels will enhance,” says Rasmussen.
