Report: Ultra-large containership newbuilds hit record in January

The boxship sector is seeing record deliveries of ultra-large containership newbuilds in 2018, with 10 joining the fleet in January alone, according to industry analyst Alphaliner.    The boxship sector is seeing record deliveries of ultra-large containership (ULCs) newbuilds in 2018, with 10 joining the fleet in January alone, according to industry analyst Alphaliner.
   The month of January will see seven mega vessels in the range of 19,000-21,000 TEUs, as well as three other ULCs in the 14,000-TEU and over range.
   “The month will set the stage for the rest of 2018, with a record number of ULCs in the size range from 14,000 to 21,000 TEUs planned for delivery this year,” said Alphaliner.
   However, Alphaliner said COSCO had delayed delivery of 10 ULCs, while Yang Ming had delayed three 14,000-TEU ships until 2019.
   Even with the delivery delays, 1.5 million TEUs are expected to be operational in 2018 with over 50 percent of that capacity coming from ULCs. “Most of this capacity is scheduled for delivery in the first half of the year, with over 1.2 million TEUs due before the end of June. These capacity additions, together with a slower rate of container ship scrapping, will put further capacity pressure on the market,” the report said.
   Globally, the containership fleet is expected to grow by 5.6 percent this year to 22.28 million TEUs, according to Alphaliner.
   Shipping analyst BIMCO also noted that new containership orders will make it difficult for shipping lines to address the fundamental imbalance between slot supply and demand in the next two to three years, as it will limit freight rate rises and force shipping lines to seek out cost savings.
   BIMCO shipping analyst Peter Sand told Lloyd’s List that, “with the container shipping segment forecast to see net fleet growth of around 4.1 percent in 2018,” shipping lines would only be able to make “operational efficiency gains via economies of scale on front-haul services from Asia to Europe and North America, where operators generate most of their volumes and revenues.”