Just as the shipping industry appeared to be moving in the right direction with rising demand and disciplined capacity supporting firmer freight rates, the order book for mega-ships of 18 000 TEUs and above seems to have moved into overdrive.
According to Drewry Maritime Research, a record number of mega-ships was delivered in 2018.
“Last year, a total of 26 containerships of at least 18 000 TEUs were delivered to carriers, the most since these so-called Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs) first hit the water in 2013. All of the aggregated capacity of 525 500 TEUs that arrived in 2018 was deployed in the Asia-North Europe trade.”
The current orderbook, according to Drewry, “calls for a slightly less punishing deluge this year (460 000 TEUs), followed by what would be another record haul in 2020 (620 000 TEUs).”
The consultants however believe that it’s not cause for too much concern.
“It is common that the annual delivery schedules are adjusted downwards in time. It is highly unlikely that all of the ULCVs scheduled for the next two years will arrive as originally planned, with many being pushed into following years.
“Secondly, just because a new ship enters a trade, it does not automatically follow that the net capacity of the route increases. Slow steaming gives lines the option to phase in a new vessel to a weekly service and maintain the existing capacity, assuming the new ship is of a similar size to those it is joining. The trade-off is longer transit times between ports.”
