Despite predictions of an impending "storm" of container ship scrapping, so far this has not materialised.
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) scrapped five containerships in the first half of the year, with a total capacity of nearly 12,000 TEUs, which accounted for about a quarter of the total number of scrapped sales, according to detailed data from Alphaliner.
Meanwhile, companies such as AP Moller-Maersk, Danaos Corp and CSAV were also involved in ship dismantling. However, only 34 boxships with a total capacity of 48,600 TEU were dismantled for sale in the entire first half of the year, a figure that clearly falls short of the 77,000 TEU in the same period in 2023.
Braemar's statistics further show that the total capacity of ships dismantled in the first half of this year was 57,000 TEU, which represents only 0.2 per cent of the global trading fleet.
It is worth noting that, according to Alphaliner, most of the scrapped ships sold in the first half of the year were smaller vessels of less than 1,500 TEU. Only three vessels over 3,000 TEU were sold for recycling: the MSC Rossella (3,424 TEU), built in 1993, the Jeppesen Maersk (3,003 TEU), built in 2001, and the largest container ship dismantled so far this year - the Ever Uranus (5,652 TEU), built in 1999.
Braemar also added that the average size and age of the ships dismantled were 1,678 TEU and 27.5 years, respectively. In its quarterly market outlook, the shipbroker gave an in-depth analysis, saying, "Container ship dismantling is slowly moving forward due to the improvement and continued rise in earnings and asset values. We do not expect containership dismantling activity to re-accelerate until the situation in the Red Sea becomes clearer."
Braemar further forecasts, "Given the relatively small number of containerships dismantled over the past three years, we foresee a period of catching up, especially once the Red Sea situation is resolved."
Alphaliner's forecasts suggest that dismantling will reach 120,000 TEUs in 2024 and could even soar to 250,000 TEUs next year, although this is still a long way from the record 655,000 TEUs dismantled in 2016.
Analysts provide an in-depth look at this phenomenon: "Currently, there is virtually zero overcapacity, and unexpectedly strong freight demand is one of the key factors fuelling the boom in this market. As a result, shipowners and carriers prefer to continue operating older vessels in extremely profitable conditions rather than opting for dismantling, despite rising dismantling prices."
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