Idle container ship numbers drop

Alphaliner says that the active containership fleet has surged to its highest levels since August 2011, as new ship deliveries and a reduction in the idle fleet have brought the total active capacity to a new record of 15million TEU. 62 new containerships have been delivered so far in 2012, representing a total capacity of 455,000TEU. Of these new ships, 23 are larger than 10,000TEU. This capacity increase has been partly mitigated by increased scrapping of older tonnage, with 55 ships (93,500TEU) sent for demolition so far this year. Alphaline believes that as much as 200,000TEU could be scrapped in 2012, but this will still remain a fraction of the delivered capacity, which is expected to reach 1,388,000TEU.

After a rise from a low of 0.5% in June 2011 to a peak of 5.8% in mid-March, the idle fleet is shrinking again, mostly through the reactivation of large units. The idle containership fleet has dropped sharply from 913,000TEU in mid-March to 723,000TEU as of 9 April. The idle fleet is expected to fall further in the next three months, with most of the ships of above 5,000TEU expected to be reactivated by summer.