Consolidation in container shipping has some way to go before the rewards are reaped, according to leading shipowner Claus-Peter Offen.
The Offen Group managing partner told today’s TradeWinds Shipowners Forum in Hamburg that the benefits of consolidation have still to been seen among liner companies.
He criticised major Chinese companies for building ever-larger containerships at a time when there was oversupply and too little demand.
"This is a never-ending story," he said.
"Liner companies maintain overcapacity with a hope that one of their competitors will close ...but this doesn't happen," he said.
He said the industry was still a long way from being profitable.
Consolidation support
Not everybody shared the shipowner’s negative view on consolidation in the shipping business.
Nils Aden, managing director, V Ships, said there was still value of big consolidation projects which take a global perspective.
Ole Gabs, managing director, Arkon Allied Container (AAC) said that consolidation had helped his company develop more projects on the cargo side.
"On project side, combining helps do bigger projects," he said.
Armin Sass, managing director of Blue Net Chartering, said that consolidation had helped with provision of better information
"All of a sudden you don't have 20 ships with one client you have 80 ships...and that helps your bargaining power," he said.
But he expressed concern that a spike in charter rates could lead to another round of ordering ships.
That could happen at a time when rates are "a long way from seeing numbers that make sense for anybody to go out and order new buildings," he said.
