CONTAINERSHIP orders have broken capacity records in less than eight months with a total of 3.44 million TEU ordered in 2021 alone, according to BIMCO statistics, reports Indonesia's Shipping Gazette.
The shipowners, who have a lot of cash and are short on tonnage, have ordered a total of 619 containerships for future shipments. Of these, 381 have been ordered in 2021 alone, said BIMCO analyst Peter Sand.
'Today the container ship order book holds 5.3 million TEU of shipping capacity which is scheduled to be added to the fleet from 2023 and onwards. Entering 2021, the order book stood just at 2.5 million TEU. Since then, a record high 3.3 million TEU has been ordered, indicating that shipowners are going big on investing in new capacity,' he said.
'Size still matters, but it's no longer the only thing that matters. Your ships must be prepared to adapt to emerging trade routes, and many of the new ships ordered will be equipped with scrubbers,' said Mr Sand.
The 16,000-TEUer is the most popular order in 2021. In February, March, April, and June, as many as sixty 16,000 TEUers were ordered by five different owners. Half were ordered by two top-four tonnage providers and one small, while the other half are ordered by operating liner companies.
'It is very much a sign of the times too; you go big, or you don't go at all. You order four, five, or six ships, or as much as 20 units, in one go, and at one yard only. The buying power when you spend US$2.5 billion is significant,' Mr Sand said.
Changes in trade patterns due to the US-China trade war and the Covid crisis have made the more 'versatile' 13,000-16,000 TEU vessels preferred over Ultra Large Container Ships (ULCS).
No more than 22 ULCS will be ordered during the first seven and a half months of 2021. On February, fourteen 24,000-TEU vessels were ordered and in June, another eight 23,500-24,000 TEU vessels followed.
SeaNews Turkey
The shipowners, who have a lot of cash and are short on tonnage, have ordered a total of 619 containerships for future shipments. Of these, 381 have been ordered in 2021 alone, said BIMCO analyst Peter Sand.
'Today the container ship order book holds 5.3 million TEU of shipping capacity which is scheduled to be added to the fleet from 2023 and onwards. Entering 2021, the order book stood just at 2.5 million TEU. Since then, a record high 3.3 million TEU has been ordered, indicating that shipowners are going big on investing in new capacity,' he said.
'Size still matters, but it's no longer the only thing that matters. Your ships must be prepared to adapt to emerging trade routes, and many of the new ships ordered will be equipped with scrubbers,' said Mr Sand.
The 16,000-TEUer is the most popular order in 2021. In February, March, April, and June, as many as sixty 16,000 TEUers were ordered by five different owners. Half were ordered by two top-four tonnage providers and one small, while the other half are ordered by operating liner companies.
'It is very much a sign of the times too; you go big, or you don't go at all. You order four, five, or six ships, or as much as 20 units, in one go, and at one yard only. The buying power when you spend US$2.5 billion is significant,' Mr Sand said.
Changes in trade patterns due to the US-China trade war and the Covid crisis have made the more 'versatile' 13,000-16,000 TEU vessels preferred over Ultra Large Container Ships (ULCS).
No more than 22 ULCS will be ordered during the first seven and a half months of 2021. On February, fourteen 24,000-TEU vessels were ordered and in June, another eight 23,500-24,000 TEU vessels followed.
SeaNews Turkey
