The wave of new containerships about to hit the shipping markets could soon create new problems of surplus vessel capacity, with a major impact on the balance between supply and demand.
Raising the alarm is Hapag Lloyd’s CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen. According to Lloyd’s List, Mr. Jansen pointed out at a press conference that the order book had been increasing significantly over the last few years, so much so that it now represents the equivalent of 25% of the current fleet.
He said that the effects on the supply/demand ratio would be seen in the second half of this year, when the first new vessels would have left the shipyards.
While this year’s 3% fleet increase was in line with market growth estimates, in 2023 the fleet will grow twice as fast as market growth.
This new vessel capacity will come into operation at the same time as the growth in demand starts to slow down.
According to Mr. Jansen order book growth would not be a problem in the long term, but over the next 24 months, we are likely to see an overcapacity.
Translation by Giles Foster
