In its latest quarterly report Braemar Shipbroker said that the small vessel sector, ships up to 2,000 teu, increased by 98 vessels up to September this year, with the most vessel deliveries in the market, reports Seatrade Maritime.
“Mid-sized vessels, in the 5,100-7,499 teu size band enjoyed a surge of deliveries in 2024 as the revival continues, we noted 60 newbuildings delivered, net fleet growth 13.0% y/y in the first nine months. To put this mid-size resurgence into perspective, in the eleven years 2011-2021. there were just 80 newbuilding deliveries in this sector,” said Braemar.
Focus on smaller sizes
According to Braemar researcher Jonathon Roach, the focus is now on the smaller sizes for two reasons. Firstly, these are the oldest vessels in the fleet, and secondly, as new tonnage arrives, the cascading of larger vessels down to the smaller trades will eventually bring an uptick in demolition, probably starting next year.
Many of the smaller vessels in the fleet operate in the intra-Asia trades, which are growing, with some of China’s manufacturing spreading around Asian states.
Roach, however, points out: “There are only 26 sub-1,000 teu ships on order, we are expecting a squeeze on sub-panamax tonnage in the intra-Asia trades.”
Even so, Braemar reported that feeder and regional orders remained “muted” in Q3 this year, while noting “substantial interest” in mid-sizes, 8,000-9,200 teu vessels, of which there were an estimated 42 ordered in Q3 2024.
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Source: Seatrade Maritime
