Container vessels in the 2,000 teu-3,000 teu size bracket accounted for almost half of all containerships sold for scrap in the opening three months of 2012.
New figures from Braemar Seascope show that scrapping activity is picking up, with 35 ships sent to the breakers in the first quarter of the year, all relatively small.
The largest was the 1988-built 3,500 teu APL Ruby, sold by Neptune Orient Lines, while Mediterranean Shipping Co disposed of the 3,200 teu 1986-built pair MSC Nora and MSC Clara, along with the slightly smaller MSC Carina.
In total, demolition sales added up to 65,110 teu, according to Braemar Seascope in its latest quarterly analysis of containership fleet statistics.
“Containership demolition has noticeably picked up,” the broker notes. “The momentum of the latest recycling surge started during the last quarter of 2011 and has continued with gusto in the opening quarter of 2012.”
The amount of capacity sold for scrap in this period was five times greater than in the corresponding period of 2011, with Braemar now estimating that 120 ships of just over 193,000 teu will be removed this year, representing 1.2% of the fleet.
That compares with 58 ship deletions of 83,900 teu in 2011, and a projected 65 ships of 134,500 teu likely to be sold for scrap in 2013.
Meanwhile, during the first quarter, around 50 cellular ships were delivered, roughly in line with what was expected at the start of the year,
If deliveries continue at the current rate, slippage rates will be low, says Braemar Seascope.
At the start of the month, the fully cellular fleet reached around 4,900 ships of 15.4m teu, having grown by 7% over the past 12 months, on a par with global demand.
The current orderbook now stands at around 560 ships of 3.9m teu, equivalent to 25% of the world fleet, having come down from 28% last year and a high of 60% at one stage following the newbuilding boom of 2006-2008.