Idle fleet falls despite record new ship deliveries

The idle fleet as at 5 July stood at 174 vessels for 340,000 TEU compared to 192 vessels for 380,000 TEU recorded a fortnight ago. This represents 2.5% of the total fleet, the lowest idling percentage recorded since December 2008.

The carrier-operated idle fleet has now dropped to only 44 ships for 120,000 TEU. At its peak in March last year, it stood at more than 240 ships for over 1 million TEU. The non-operating owner idle fleet currently stands at 130 ships for 219,000 TEU, with the majority of these units in the 1,000-2,000 TEU size range.

The drop in the idle fleet comes amidst a record number of new vessel deliveries made in the second quarter. During the April-Jun period, 88 new vessels with a total capacity of 440,000 TEU were delivered. This is the highest level of quarterly deliveries ever recorded.