By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - Non-operating owners of ageing gas-guzzling small containerships are likely to renew their interest in scrapping as the charter market makes an unexpected U-turn. The latest idle tonnage report by Alphaliner records 131 ships of 500-5,100 teu in hot or cold lay-up seeking employment, compared with just 56 in February. The consultant notes … [Read more...]
Tanker Owners are Scrapping the Most Ships in Decades
By Firat Kayakiran (Bloomberg) -- Oil tanker owners are giving up. A 19-month curtailment of OPEC cargoes, and environmental regulations that are proving uneconomical to comply with, have got owners purging the supertanker fleet at the fastest pace since the 1980s, according to Global Marketing Systems Inc., one of the world’s top buyers of obsolete ships for scrap. While … [Read more...]
No Trade Balance for Container Shipping Until End of 2019, Says Alphaliner
By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - Recent forecasts from ocean carriers that a supply-demand equilibrium will be reached next year are “optimistic”, says Alphaliner. It says newbuild deliveries with 1.6m teu of cellular capacity will aggravate a supply overhang that is expected to be carried over from the fourth quarter of this year. Alphaliner’s current idle containership … [Read more...]
Drewry: Scrapping to Determine Pace of Recovery for Tanker Shipping Market
(Drewry) - Recovery in the crude tanker shipping market is not expected until 2020 as weak trade growth and a bloated orderbook limit any rate recovery. But the timing of any market upturn will be heavily influenced by the level of scrapping, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. The ongoing overcapacity in … [Read more...]
Surging Steel Price Boosts Scrap Value of Redundant Containerships
By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - A sharp increase in steel prices has prompted a new wave of vessel scrapping, bringing the supply-demand ratio in container shipping further into balance. According to the latest report from London shipbroker Braemar ACM, containership scrapping this year has already reached 56, amounting to 185,500 teu. This compares with 16 ships (45,000 … [Read more...]