Mega-ships and carrier alliances could prove to be the financial savior of the container shipping industry, but they are also straining the operations of marine terminals and motor carriers.
Mega-Ships
Seeking efficiency and economies of scale, the world’s container carriers are increasingly ordering mega-ships capable of handling more than 8,000 20-foot-equivalent container units, especially on the Asia-Europe trade lane. Shippers and carriers looking to reach the North American east coast with these post-Panamax ships must transit the Suez Canal because, as their name implies, they are too big to sail through the Panama Canal. But with Panama’s decade-long canal expansion project set for completion in 2015, the giant vessels will be able to add the Panama Canal to their route options. Ports around the world are preparing for the onslaught of these mega-ships, dredging harbors and investing in super-post-Panamax cranes that can reach across 22 or more rows of containers to expedite loading and unloading operations.
News & Analysis
19 Feb 2014
The global container ship fleet this year is expected to grow at the slowest rate in a decade, but large and small shipping lines continue to order more new ships than the forecast growth of global container cargo can fill over the next two years, especially on the Asia-Europe trade.
03 Feb 2014
United Arab Shipping Co. today said it has exercised an option for six additional 14,000-TEU container ships, taking its total order book to 16 vessels worth more than $2 billion.
20 Jan 2014
China Shipping Container Lines has upgraded the capacity of five ships on order at Hyundai Heavy Industries from 18,400 TEUs to 19,000 TEUs, the South Korean shipyard said today as it began construction of the first of the world’s largest container vessels.
27 Dec 2013
What follows are our picks for the top 10 stories of 2013. Do you agree? Disagree?
13 Dec 2013
When shippers look ahead to 2014, they see a repeat performance of this year, but with even more volatility. The capacity that will come with the multitude of big container ships due for delivery next year will outstrip any increases in global demand for vessel space, so carriers won’t be able to sustain the freight rate increases they will seek.
