Oslo-listed Wallenius Wilhelmsen has decided to reactivate the last three of 15 ships it stacked last spring during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The trio will be brought back in the third quarter, replacing capacity sourced through short-term charters.
The company continues to see reactivation as cheaper than chartering in third-party vessels.
Nine of the stacked ships are already back at work, with another three due to start sailing again in the second quarter.
"Customer demand, scarcity of capacity and rising rates in the time-charter market continue to make reactivation of vessels in lay-up a more cost-competitive option," the company said.
Pre-pandemic ship coming back
Another ship, laid up before the pandemic began, will also come back on line in November this year.
Torbjorn Wist, acting chief executive of the shipowner, said: "We expect the overall industry supply-demand balance to improve in the mid-term.
"Given the time required to reactivate vessels, we believe that the time is right to reactivate the remaining vessels that have been laid up due to the pandemic."
Wist admitted that predicting the potential market impact of the ongoing pandemic remains a challenge, but he said the company has the flexibility to adjust the fleet to any market change.
Search on for CEO
Wallenius Wilhelmsen has been looking for a new boss after Craig Jasienski left earlier in March.
Following dialogue, both parties said ending the chief executive's employment was a mutual decision.
