Demand for Ultra-Large Vessels Changes Course

July 23, 2014

Demand for newbuild containerships has dwindled during the month of June, as European traffic demand began to increase, heralding a changing course in the industry.

The slowdown in growth of the orderbook, particularly amongst ultra-large vessels, marks a positive sign that improving demand could catch-up with the projected vessel supply by 2016, said Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) in its weekly review.

“Figures from RS Platou show only three vessels ordered during the month of June, all below 3,000teu capacity, while
Seatrade Global reported a drop in the orderbook to fleet capacity ratio to just 20%, compared with a figure of 50% several years ago,” IMDO review reads.

Demise of the proposed P3 Alliance is believed to be the key reason behind such a turn on the market.

The expected dominance of P3 Alliance sparked an ordering frenzy for 13,000 to 18,000 newbuild vessels as lines fulfilled their obligations to supply ultra-large vessels to the joint services.

Nevertheless, as the Alliance plans fell through, the frenzy cooled off leaving the orderbook at 415 vessels (3.45mn teu) by the close of June, according to IMDO.

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IMDO, July 23, 2014; Image; CMA CGM