News / Blow to charter market as Hanjin returns push idle container fleet to new high

© Kok Keong Ng

Sixty container vessels returned to owners by bankrupt Hanjin Shipping, yet to find new employment, havre pushed the idled container fleet to a new all-time record.

It now comprises 397 ships, amounting to 1.59m teu and equivalent 7.8% of the world’s cellular tonnage.

The containership charter market “remains in dire straits”, states Alphaliner in its latest market update, reporting that any charters being fixed are “at ludicrously low levels”.

And the bad news for shipowners doesn’t end there: with 1.7m teu of newbuild tonnage stemmed for delivery in 2017, ocean carriers will be ...