Container ship deliveries in the first 10 months of 2024 set a new annual record, according to the Baltic International Maritime Council (BIMCO).
According to Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO, 410 new container ships have been delivered this year with a total capacity of 2.5 million TEUs, surpassing the 2023 annual peak of 2.3 million TEUs. These deliveries have increased the size of the container fleet by 2.4 million TEU (8.7%) since the beginning of 2024, and the global container fleet now consists of 6,699 vessels with a total capacity of 30.4 million TEU.
Rasmussen added that despite the rapid expansion of the fleet, shipowners continue to increase newbuilding orders. So far this year, new ship orders have more than doubled last year’s total, with 286 ships increased in capacity to 3.3 million TEUs. At the beginning of June, the order book fell to 5.9 million TEUs, but is now back to 7.6 million TEUs, or 25% of the total global fleet.
Although the current order book is slightly below the record 7.8 million TEUs set in early 2023, the order book for operating shipowners is at an all-time high of 5.9 million TEUs.
According to BIMCO, capacity in the 12,000 to 17,000 TEU class of container ships has driven 42% of capacity growth since the beginning of the 2020s and is set to be the main driver of capacity growth in the coming years, as new ship orders in this sector account for 47% of capacity ordered. In contrast, in the 1920s, ultra-large container ships above 17,000 TEU class accounted for 25% of fleet growth and 27% of capacity ordered.
Rasmussen noted that the order-to-fleet ratio is currently at 25%, but the actual growth of the fleet will depend on the recycling of older vessels over the next few years. After several years of low recycling, by next year there will be 3.4 million TEU of container ships worldwide that are more than 20 years old and will be the main targets for dismantling in the next few years. If all of these ships are dismantled in the next five years, the fleet growth rate will be limited to 14% based on the existing order book.
Adoption of desulphurization towers is accelerating as ship deliveries surge. A milestone was reached with 40% of container ship capacity equipped with scrubber technology. The growth momentum for desulphurization towers continues despite a new generation of ships that will use green alternative fuels as part of the push to decarbonize liner shipping.