Drewry: Idle containership fleet declining

As of June, 178 containerships with an aggregate capacity of 474,000 TEUs were idle, with over half of the ships having a capacity of 2,000 TEUs or less, according to maritime consultant Drewry.    The idle containership fleet has drastically declined over the last several months, illustrating how the industry is getting healthier, with fewer unwanted assets draining costs, London-based shipping research and consulting firm Drewry said.
   The idle containership fleet (defined as inactive for at least 14 days) has shrunk from 1.7 million TEUs in November 2016 to under 500,000 TEUs as of June 2017, according to Drewry’s latest Container Forecaster report.
   Drewry attributed the sharp decline to former Hanjin vessels that were left idle after the South Korean carrier filed for bankruptcy either being scrapped or picked up by other owners and operators, coupled with a high scrapping rate in general for formerly inactive containerships.
   When Hanjin went bankrupt in the third quarter of 2016, it left about 100 ships (owned and chartered) without gainful employment, which added around 600,000 TEUs to the industry’s idle containership fleet.
   As of early June 2017, 13 former Hanjin operated ships with a combined capacity of 97,595 TEUs were still idle. Since then, five of the listed ships found employment, leaving only eight Hanjin operated ships with a combined capacity of 51,929 TEUs still idle.
   Meanwhile, the containership industry has seen a high rate in vessel scrapping over the last several months, with Drewry counting some 23 ships with an aggregate capacity of 76,000 TEUs scrapped out of idled positions between early December 2016 through mid-March. However, the level of scrapping has since slowed as the demand for ships has increased.
   As of June, 178 ships with an aggregate capacity of 474,000 TEUs were idle. Broken down by vessel size, 54 were under 1,000 TEUs, followed by 48 between 1,000-2,000 TEUs, 20 between 2,000-3,000 TEUs, 14 between 5,000-8,000 TEUs, nine between 8,000-10,000 TEUs, two between 10,000-12,000 TEUs and one above 12,000 TEUs.
   Looking ahead, Drewry said, “We expect the idle fleet to remain at about 2-3 percent of the total containership fleet throughout the summer, before rising slightly during the slack season that comes into play in the final months of the year.”