Specialised reefer vessels sailing into the sunset

Specialised reefer vessels are being replaced by reefer points in container ships, according to Drewry’s latest Reefer Shipping Market Annual Review & Forecast. It predicts that reefer capacity on the container ship f leet will increase by 22% over the next five years, at the expense of a declining specialised reefer f leet. Reefer box capacity is expected to grow from 1.6 million 40ft slots in 2013 to 1.9 million slots in 2018 in order to accommodate increased demand. Volumes carried in reefers are forecast to rise by 20.5 million tons over this period – 16.5 million tons by organic growth and 4 million tons at the expense of the shrinking specialised reefer industry. Overall seaborne perishable reefer trade will increase by 17% between 2013 and 2018, providing an additional 16.5 million tons of cargo. “As a result of the expected cargo growth, reefer container slot utilisation levels will be unchanged in 2015 and only marginally lower thereafter,” says Kevin Harding, the report editor. “Meanwhile, the specialised reefer sector is forecast to shrink further as a result of scrapping and a virtually empty order book.” Drewry estimates that the worldwide seaborne perishable reefer trade has risen at an annual rate of 3.2% in the 10 years to 2013, reaching 98 million tons last year. Sectors driving this growth have been meat and exotic fruit, with the latter rising by as much as 9.3% each year over the period.