THE charter owners' container fleet has grown at an average annual rate of 3.2 per cent for the past 12 years and currently stands at 11.7 million TEU, reports New York's Marine Link.
The operator owners' fleet has however grown faster, so the charter owners' fleet now makes up only 40 per cent of total container fleet capacity, down from 50 per cent in 2012,' says Niels Rasmussen, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO.
The charter owners' share of the container fleet has fallen every year during the past 12 years. However, the 10-percentage point fall in share occurred during the past three years and the last time the charter owners' share of the fleet was this low was in 2002.
The charter owners' share peaked at 50 per cent of the container fleet between 2009 and 2012.
'Today, the 20 largest charter owners' control about 65 per cent of the charter fleet. Four German owners remain in the top twenty list but no longer dominate it. More recent additions to the top twenty list are several Chinese leasing companies,' says Mr Rasmussen.
Nearly 40 per cent of the capacity of the charter owners' fleet is made of ships larger than 12,000 TEU. These ships are generally fixed on long-term charters prior to delivery and few, if any, have made it into the short-term charter market.
Accordingly, a maximum of 25 per cent of the total fleet's capacity is currently available for short-term charters. The actual percentage is less as some smaller ships are also fixed on long-term charter contracts.
The reduction in the charter fleet's share of the total fleet's capacity and the smaller share available for short-term fixtures have reduced operators' flexibility to quickly adjust their operating fleet up- or downwards.
That flexibility is currently further limited as the very strong charter market during the Covid pandemic meant that more ships were chartered for longer periods, with some of those charter contracts yet to expire.
'In the coming years, the charter fleet's share of the total container fleet will continue to fall. Charter owners' order books have fallen from 3.4 million TEU to just 1.0 million TEU in only two years. It is now only 16 per cent of the total order book and the operators' fleet will therefore grow faster,' says Mr Rasmussen.
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The operator owners' fleet has however grown faster, so the charter owners' fleet now makes up only 40 per cent of total container fleet capacity, down from 50 per cent in 2012,' says Niels Rasmussen, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO.
The charter owners' share of the container fleet has fallen every year during the past 12 years. However, the 10-percentage point fall in share occurred during the past three years and the last time the charter owners' share of the fleet was this low was in 2002.
The charter owners' share peaked at 50 per cent of the container fleet between 2009 and 2012.
'Today, the 20 largest charter owners' control about 65 per cent of the charter fleet. Four German owners remain in the top twenty list but no longer dominate it. More recent additions to the top twenty list are several Chinese leasing companies,' says Mr Rasmussen.
Nearly 40 per cent of the capacity of the charter owners' fleet is made of ships larger than 12,000 TEU. These ships are generally fixed on long-term charters prior to delivery and few, if any, have made it into the short-term charter market.
Accordingly, a maximum of 25 per cent of the total fleet's capacity is currently available for short-term charters. The actual percentage is less as some smaller ships are also fixed on long-term charter contracts.
The reduction in the charter fleet's share of the total fleet's capacity and the smaller share available for short-term fixtures have reduced operators' flexibility to quickly adjust their operating fleet up- or downwards.
That flexibility is currently further limited as the very strong charter market during the Covid pandemic meant that more ships were chartered for longer periods, with some of those charter contracts yet to expire.
'In the coming years, the charter fleet's share of the total container fleet will continue to fall. Charter owners' order books have fallen from 3.4 million TEU to just 1.0 million TEU in only two years. It is now only 16 per cent of the total order book and the operators' fleet will therefore grow faster,' says Mr Rasmussen.
SeaNews Turkey
