News / Charter market for larger boxships is 'virtually sold out’

© Wissanu Sirapat

A key indicator of the health of the container shipping industry, Alphaliner’s fortnightly idle tonnage report, has recorded a further sharp drop in inactive capacity.

As of 3 August, another 49 ships, with a total capacity of 350,000 teu, had found employment during the two-week period, taking the idle fleet to 264 vessels for 1.2m teu, representing 5.1% of the global fleet.

Alphaliner’s idle tonnage survey recorded an all-time high at the end of May, of 551 laid-up ships for a total ...