Container ship order book outstrips tankers and bulk carriers for the first time

July 11, 2022

The severely skewed global order book is breaking all kinds of records, which will have long-term effects on the primary shipping sectors.

According to data from Clarkson Research Services, ordering in the bulker and tanker sectors, which together make up 75% of the world fleet’s dwt capacity, has been constrained in the 2020s to the point where the containership order book is now, for the first time, larger than both the tanker and bulker order books in dwt.

An all-time high of around 900 7 million teu containerships have been ordered since Q4 2020, and 94 16 million cubic meter LNG carriers have been contracted so far this year, setting a new yearly record.

On the other hand, according to Clarksons, the last year has been the least active in terms of tanker new-build contracts ever.

The tanker order book has reached a 25-year low of 35 million deadweight tonnes or a record-low 5 percent of fleet capacity.

The bulker order book is now at 69 million dwt, which is almost an 18-year low and only accounts for 7% of the fleet.

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