Reederei Stefan Patjens has sold a 13-year-old "maxi-panamax" containership for demolition.
The 5,041-teu Elise (built 2006) has gone for $460 per ldt, or $9.4m, according to European scrap and containership brokers.
The sale comes as the idled fleet of traditional panamax boxships hits its highest level in more than two years.
Patjens is understood to have sold the Elise on an “as is” basis in China, with 180 tonnes of bunkers onboard.
One of three maxi-panamaxes in the German owner's fleet, it is due for special survey in June 2021.
Two sisterships in the fleet, the Herma P (built 2006) and Allise P (built 2007), are without employment and could face a similar fate.
Newbuilding series
The three vessels were part of a series of four sisterships that Patjens ordered at Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2004 for a reported $57m each.
One of them, the 5,044-teu Kaethe P (built 2006) was sold in September 2017 to Mangrove Partners of the US for $9.5m.
That vessel is said to be earning just $7,000 per day operating as the MP The Belichick. It was recently fixed for four to eight months with Singapore's Feedertech.
Patjens could not be contacted for comment. But observers believe that the weakening market for traditional maxi-panamaxes of this size figured in the equation to scrap the vessels.
There are currently around 40 traditional panamax boxships of between 4,000 teu and 5,299 teu in spot positions, which is the highest since March 2017, according to Alphaliner.
Rates are lowest in Asia, where fixtures include the 5,089-teu Memphis (built 2008), taken at $7,150 with Hapag-Lloyd for four to seven months.
“The supply environment has been constantly worsening in this segment since September,” Alphaliner said.
“This is becoming a major concern for owners, who will need to weigh up their options going forward, should demand fail to pick up.”
Patjens is listed with eight containerships from 518 teu to 5,040 teu. Last October, it sold the 1,122-teu feeder containership Rothorn (built 1996) for scrap.
In May 2011, the company came close to ordering up to 10 vessels of 4,700 teu each at South Korea’s Sungdong Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, but the deal did not materialise.
Meanwhile, Tsakos Shipping & Trading has sold the 1,625-teu Irenes Logos (built 1995). It has gone to India, probably for $3.8m.
The vessel, purchased from a Japanese owner for $13.4m in 2002, is due for special survey in February 2020.
