A 32-year-old boxship has emerged as the first container ship to be sold for demolition in 2022.
The 1,248-teu Mathu Bhum (built 1990) is being recycled in the first deal of its kind in nearly a year.
The sale marks a pivotal shift in container shipping, where the booming market resulted in a stay of execution for hundreds of older vessels.
The sale of the Mathu Bhum is confirmed by Thai-listed Regional Container Lines.
The deal will net the company around $3.1m, with the 5,130-ldt vessel sold “as is” in Singapore for around $620 per ldt, according to brokers.
Demolition of boxships has been at record lows this year, with no reported sales in nine months.
The last container ship scrapped was the 310-teu Da Fa (built 1991), which went to Chittagong recyclers in December 2021, according to Alphaliner.
That vessel was one of just four boxships sold for scrap in the second half of last year.
The others were the 982-teu reefer container vessel pair Dole California and Dole Ecuador (both built 1989) and the 215-teu Hanjin 3006 (built 1996).
Pressure felt
But with freight and charter markets falling and shipping facing tough environmental legislation from next year, the pressure on the boxship demolition flood gates is building.
Pressure is most intense on smaller feeder ships, where charter rates and values have fallen fastest.
That could affect vessels under 3,000 teu, where more than 20% of the fleet is over 20 years old.
These vessels are facing tough carbon reduction laws to be implemented from 2023 onwards.
Those laws could render much of the feeder container fleet “in many respects technically and commercially obsolete as 2023 nears”, Maersk Broker noted.
The Mathu Bhum is one of the vessels that would likely struggle to meet the upcoming requirements of the Carbon Intensity Indicator.
The vessel would currently have a low D rating, according to Clarksons’ calculations, thus requiring corrective action.
Only 19 container ships totalling 16,500 teu were demolished in 2021, according to Alphaliner.
The consultancy believes 2023 could see 250,000 teu or more reaching recycling facilities, the analyst estimates.
