THE container shipping segment started its latest wave of rapid growth in the past few years as carriers moved to order larger vessels to meet capacity demands.
The industry trade group BIMCO reports in its year-end analysis of the segment that the orderbook continues to grow for containerships even with the ongoing deliveries from the orders that started in 2021.
'At the end of 2024, the containership order book was 8.3 million TEU, a new record compared with the previous high of 7.8 million TEU in early 2023,' says Niels Rasmussen, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO.
By comparison in April 2022, BIMCO calculated that the containership orderbook had surpassed 6.5 million TEU, marking the first time it has reached that level in 15 years. Mr Rasmussen at the time noted that 6 million TEU had been added in just 18 months.
Despite deliveries hitting a record high of 2.9 million TEU in 2024, BIMCO reports an additional 4.4 million TEU was ordered in 2024. It was the second highest-ever level of capacity ordered in a year.
The sector stands at just under 7,200 active containerships according to Alphaliner's end-of-year calculations. It shows a total capacity of just under 31.5 million TEU.
The new vessels will continue to enter the market in 2025 with 99 per cent of the current orders due for delivery by 2029.
However, BIMCO highlights five ships have already been ordered for delivery in 2030, writes Fort Lauderdale's The Maritime Executive.
BIMCO reports an average of 1.9 million TEU will be delivered between 2025 and 2028 with the peak year in 2027 with 2.2 million TEU of capacity scheduled for delivery. A further 0.7 million TEU of capacity will be delivered in 2029.
The industry's order focus continues to be on larger vessels. Mr Rasmussen reports that 92 per cent of the orderbook capacity is for ships of 8,000 TEU or larger. The largest segment, 12,000 to 17,000 TEU makes up 46 per cent of the order capacity.
Speculation is that some of the tonnage is fleet replacement, such as Maersk which reported it would maintain its overall size using the ships to modernize the fleet and meet pending emissions regulations. Despite that, the expectation is that recycling will continue to lag behind the deliveries.
BIMCO notes if all ships 20 years old or older are recycled during the next five years, the fleet would grow to 35.8 million TEU by the end of 2029, assuming no more ships are contracted for delivery before 2030.
That is equal to 16 per cent growth or average annual growth of 3 per cent. The segments smaller than 8,000 TEU would see an average annual contraction of 4 per cent while the segments 8,000 TEU or larger would grow on average 7 per cent per year.
SeaNews Turkey
The industry trade group BIMCO reports in its year-end analysis of the segment that the orderbook continues to grow for containerships even with the ongoing deliveries from the orders that started in 2021.
'At the end of 2024, the containership order book was 8.3 million TEU, a new record compared with the previous high of 7.8 million TEU in early 2023,' says Niels Rasmussen, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO.
By comparison in April 2022, BIMCO calculated that the containership orderbook had surpassed 6.5 million TEU, marking the first time it has reached that level in 15 years. Mr Rasmussen at the time noted that 6 million TEU had been added in just 18 months.
Despite deliveries hitting a record high of 2.9 million TEU in 2024, BIMCO reports an additional 4.4 million TEU was ordered in 2024. It was the second highest-ever level of capacity ordered in a year.
The sector stands at just under 7,200 active containerships according to Alphaliner's end-of-year calculations. It shows a total capacity of just under 31.5 million TEU.
The new vessels will continue to enter the market in 2025 with 99 per cent of the current orders due for delivery by 2029.
However, BIMCO highlights five ships have already been ordered for delivery in 2030, writes Fort Lauderdale's The Maritime Executive.
BIMCO reports an average of 1.9 million TEU will be delivered between 2025 and 2028 with the peak year in 2027 with 2.2 million TEU of capacity scheduled for delivery. A further 0.7 million TEU of capacity will be delivered in 2029.
The industry's order focus continues to be on larger vessels. Mr Rasmussen reports that 92 per cent of the orderbook capacity is for ships of 8,000 TEU or larger. The largest segment, 12,000 to 17,000 TEU makes up 46 per cent of the order capacity.
Speculation is that some of the tonnage is fleet replacement, such as Maersk which reported it would maintain its overall size using the ships to modernize the fleet and meet pending emissions regulations. Despite that, the expectation is that recycling will continue to lag behind the deliveries.
BIMCO notes if all ships 20 years old or older are recycled during the next five years, the fleet would grow to 35.8 million TEU by the end of 2029, assuming no more ships are contracted for delivery before 2030.
That is equal to 16 per cent growth or average annual growth of 3 per cent. The segments smaller than 8,000 TEU would see an average annual contraction of 4 per cent while the segments 8,000 TEU or larger would grow on average 7 per cent per year.
SeaNews Turkey
