Idle boxfleet rises to 1.4 Mteu

According to Alphaliner, the fleet of idle containerships has risen to 1.413 Mteu, or 10.9% of the total fleet as at 9 November 2009. Most of the increase over the fortnight

came from the carrier-operated fleet, with more vessels from the CKYH joining the idle ranks following the group?s rationalisation of the Asia-Europe services.

MISC Bhd. has also added to its idle fleet and an incredible 13 ships representing 35% of its current fleet is lying idle. They range in size from 1,300 to 8,000 teu. MISC?s sole remaining vessel on the Grand Alliance Asia-Europe service (the 6,039 teu WAN HAI 605 ? chartered from Wan Hai on a three year lease expiring in early 2011) will soon join the idle ranks as MISC will exit from the trade by December.

On the other hand, the Malaysian carrier has opted to take on fresh charters for its newly-launched Far East-Middle East ?Halal Express-2? service, which required 4,000 teu ships that MISC does not have within its current fleet.

Meanwhile the non-operating owner (NOO) fleet remained stable at 685,000 teu, with 386 ships currently recorded to be open on the charter market. Spot charter rates remained weak, with most charters taken on short periods.