The idle containership fleet has continued to grow with over a 100,000 TEU in capacity added in two weeks.
According to Alphaliner the idle containership fleet was 245 ships with a capacity of 780,000 TEU as of 5 October, this compares to 673,000 TEU on 21 September.
“The idle fleet has risen by 450,000 TEU in the last three months, in the sharpest rise in containership unemployment recorded since early 2009,” Alphaliner said in its latest weekly report.
As demand for container shipping remains sluggish the idle fleet is expected to continue growing in the fourth quarter of the year.
“Weak demand across numerous trades, with this month’s onset of the slack cargo season, will lead to further idling and several carriers have already announced plans to withdraw services, starting as soon as mid- October,” the report said.
“The idle fleet is therefore expected to continue to rise over the next three months, with little hope of a reversal until spring.”
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.