The number of laid-up containerships increased by 10.4 per cent in a fortnight, according to a survey, which showed 568 ships were idle, aggregating 1.35 million TEUs as on October 12 from the 548 idle vessels, totalling 1.29 million TEUs, noted a fortnight earlier, Exim News Service reports.

The report said the laid-up fleet was now the biggest-ever. Apart from ships in the 1,000-2,000-TEU range (7,500-TEU plus sized ships lay-up rate remained steady), all sizes showed increases in idling during the two-week period.

The raft of service cutbacks by major carriers also had an impact. Yet, idle ships from non-operating owners and active carriers alike continued to rise as the peak season faded and ships ended rotations as seasonal demand dried up, the report added.