The global container ship fleet has passed 30m teu capacity for the first time, a leading shipbroker says.
The sector broke through the threshold in double-quick time, taking just eight years to add 10m teu, according to Clarksons Research.
That compares with 22 years to reach 10m teu in 2007 and nine years to reach 20m teu in 2016, notes analyst Trevor Crowe.
And a fresh wave of orders since June suggests the 40m-teu milestone may not be far off.
The growth is fuelled by liner companies investing in capacity against a backdrop of consolidation and shifting alliance structures, Crowe said.
Liner companies launched a wave of investments during the pandemic. Some 7.3m teu was ordered in 2021 and 2022, including a large proportion of alternative fuel-capable units.
That helped the fleet breach 30m teu in early September, with 6,264 boxships of an average size of 4,571 teu.
Record deliveries
Another surge in orders since June added 2.4m teu of capacity ordered and counting, Crowe noted.
That leaves today’s orderbook standing at 7.4m teu, most of which has been ordered by liner companies.
Deliveries are expected to hit a record 2.8m teu this year, then begin to slow down as early as 2025, Bimco estimates.
It said those deliveries will help lift the boxship fleet to 30.6m teu by the end of this year, up 9.3% from the end of 2023.
A further 4.8% is forecast to be added by the end of 2025, and the fleet will then hit 32m teu.
Bimco said the increased demand for ships due to longer sailing distances means ship recycling has remained low.
Ships of 12,000 teu to 17,000 teu continued to dominate new contracting in 2024.
They also make up nearly 50% of the capacity in the orderbook and are forecast to drive nearly 60% of the fleet growth between the end of 2023 and the end 2025.
So far this year, 325 container ships with a combined capacity of 2.2 teu have been delivered, according to shipbroker Braemar.
This has pushed net fleet growth to 8.5%. Full-year fleet growth is estimated to reach 10.5%.
