By Mike Wackett

(The Loadstar) – The variety of container vessels despatched to breakers’ yards up to now this 12 months will shortly eclipse the overall demolished in 2015 – when it comes to teu capability, 2016 is already method forward.

According to the newest knowledge from shipbroker Braemar ACM, the year-to-date determine is 72 vessels, 243,000 teu, in contrast with 85 vessels for 187,500 teu in the entire of final 12 months.

The surge in vessels bought for scrap – 19 container vessels reported this month alone – has helped to decrease the idle tonnage fleet, notes trade advisor Alphaliner.

It stated the variety of ships in lay-up had fallen by 28% in teu phrases since early March, and as at 16 May stood at 269 vessels for 1.13m teu.

Alphaliner estimates that the full-year scrapping determine will exceed 450,000 teu – nearly 2.5 occasions greater than final 12 months.This is partly resulting from a pick-up in scrap charges – over $300 per ldt is now being achieved, in contrast with low $200s at sure factors final 12 months – in addition to the trade’s want for a clear-out of unemployable panamax ships forward of the opening of the expanded Panama Canal subsequent month.

According to the information, of the 19 ships bought for scrap this month, 5 had been panamax items of 4,200-4,800 teu and 4 had been over-panamax vessels of 5,300-6,500 teu.

Notwithstanding the slim probability of employment for panamax ships – based on one German dealer there are not less than 50 in search of employment at anyone time – every day rent charges for fixtures are grim.

For instance, charges for a 4,400 teu gearless panamax ship of $5,400 per day, are a staggering 63% under the market charges of a 12 months in the past, and in lots of circumstances are under the every day working value.

It follows that ocean carriers needing to constitution for a brief interval are capable of take full benefit of the extraordinarily weak market and might dictate their very own phrases. MSC, CMA CGM and Zim stay very lively within the constitution market and stuck a number of panamax ships in May at under $5,000 a day on versatile quick phrases with lengthy choices.

Thus the inducement for a shipowner to ship his redundant panamax and post-panamax containerships onto the seashores of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh – the place over 70% of all world vessels are scrapped – has by no means been higher.

The present scrapping momentum can be bringing down the age that ships are despatched for demolition, and so-called “teenagers” at the moment are prime scrapping candidates.

According to Craig Jallal from vesselsvalue.com, the common scrapping age of all containerships throughout 2014 and 2015 was 22 years, and the common age for a post-panamax vessel was 19.5 years.

In April, it reported that the 2002-built, 5,447 teu Conti Taipei had been bought for scrap. And this month, two 2002-built ships have been bought to breakers, the 5,600 teu Conti Helsinki and the three,500 teu Gold.

There is little doubt that the demolition record will develop and the age of scrapped ships will fall additional after the opening of the Panama Canal’s new locks on 26 June.

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