Feeder Vessel Demand Rises as Global Fleet Hits 20M TEU

This week, the total capacity of the global container ship fleet surpassed the threshold of 20 million TEU, with Clarksons Research describing this development as 'a significant milestone reached in the sector's rapid growth process.'

The research organization predicted in its weekly bulletin that new orders for container ships, particularly those under 3,000 TEU, will be needed in the coming years. This need is attributed to the imbalanced structure between small and large tonnage vessels in the global container fleet.

According to the data, the order book for ships under 3,000 TEU corresponds to only 10% of the existing fleet capacity, while this ratio stands at 33% for vessels over 8,000 TEU. Clarksons Research highlighted that there is a very limited number of modern small-capacity container ships available in the market.

On the other hand, there is also an increase in the number of container ships being scrapped. According to the research, 724 container ships have been sold for scrap since 2012, with approximately 70% of these being vessels under 3,000 TEU.

The report also noted that the feeder fleet has been in a trend of contraction since the second half of 2011, while it was stated that significant growth in the capacity of ships under 3,000 TEU is not expected this year and next year.

Clarksons Research emphasized that the transfer of large-capacity vessels to feeder routes is also limited. Accordingly, while the flexibility of route networks remains somewhat constrained, transferring large ships to smaller regional routes is not always feasible.

According to the research, the share of vessels of 3,000 TEU and above operating in regional (intra-regional) transportation has long been hovering just below 30%.

Clarksons Research assessed that if additional capacity needs arise on regional routes, this is likely to increase demand for small-capacity container ships.

Source: SeaNews Türkiye