News / Spectre of overcapacity returns to haunt liner shipping as newbuilds queue up

© Vladimir Serebryanskiy

The spectre of overcapacity is clouding recent analyst optimism that ocean carriers could be heading for a period of sustained profitability.

During the first six months of this year, 26 newbuild ships of 14,000 teu-plus have been delivered – many of which will have been deployed between Asia and Europe, and according to Alphaliner, at least one new ultra-large vessel a week is set be delivered before the market slips into the traditional slack season in October.

Plus, encouraged by better-than-expected demand, several carriers have brought ...