News / Becalmed panamax owners need a big hike in charter rates to survive

The survival of panamax containerships is threatened by the impact of low charter rates and industry cascading.

According to an Alphaliner review of the sector, there remain 543 classic panamaxes of 4,000-5,300 teu, of which 504 are deployed on trades across the world, 30 are laid-up and nine under repair.

At their peak in 2013, there were 670 panamax containerships registered, but cascading and the opening of the expanded Panama Canal in June last year has accelerated scrapping of the hitherto industry workhorses.

According to Alphaliner records, the number ...