When someone asked on Twitter recently what
panamaxes should be called in the wake of the opening of the expanded Panama
Canal last Sunday, one wag replied: “Scrap”, leading to others to suggest the
new name for the panamax should be the Alangamax, a nod to India’s centre of
ship demolition in Gujarat.
The jesting name might have merit however
with news today from shipping association Bimco that demolition of panamax
containerships in particular in the first five months has been dramatic.
Demolition of containerships almost tripled
in the first five months of 2016 in comparison to the same period of 2015.
The demolition of capacity in the panamax
segment (3,000 to 5,999 teu), since the start of January 2016 till the year to
date, has been especially significant, Bimco noted. A total of 150,863 teu of
panamax ships have been demolished so far in 2016, this equals the number of
the same type of ship scrapped from June 2014 up to and including December
2015.
Time charter rates for the panamax box
segment have slumped 63.5% from a monthly average of $15,800 per day in March
2015 to a monthly average of $5,755 per day today.
“One possible explanation behind the higher
demolition in the panamax segment since January 2016 is their potential
redundancy – due to the opening of the new locks of the Panama Canal,” Bimco
said in a release.
Chief analyst Peter Sand said Bimco is
raising its forecast for containership demolition from 250,000 teu to 400,000
teu for the whole of 2016. Sand was adamant that more needs to be done to lift
the charter market.
Source: splash247. 1 July 2016
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