Who holds the older units?
In its latest report, Alphaliner pointed out that approximately 20% of containership fleet capacity, or almost 3 million teu, is 20 or more years old. This corresponds to about 1,200 container vessels which, due to their age, will not meet the IMO’s sustainability goals at this stage.
The largest ship owner of tonnage of this kind is MSC. The Geneva-based carrier has close to 25% of these units sailing as part of its fleet. Currently, MSC runs 212 vessels, with a capacity of 718,000 teu, which are 20 or more years old. This is not surprising, since a number of these units were bought only recently. The carrier's second-hand shopping spree since August 2020 comprised around 330 vessels, of which 145 have reached this age.
In terms of the amount of older tonnage, the Danish carrier Maersk is next in rank with 48 vessels, followed by Evergreen with 36 units of this kind. Despite the overcapacities already apparent in the market, recycling is slow. In 2023, only 70 older vessels with a total capacity 140,000 teu were taken out of service. (cd)