Owners may be encouraged to turn their attention to feedership newbuildings, rather than ultra-large boxships, according to Maersk Broker.
Tight finance will hold back contracting activity but if money can be raised, then orders for ships of below 4,500 teu may be placed, given that prices are cheap.
Furthermore, this sector of the fleet has suffered from under-ordering, with newbuilding interest in recent years focused on the bigger ships. That has left a relatively elderly feedership fleet.
“It appears more and more that owners are slowly coming out of the woods, and are gearing up to take advantage of the low newbuilding prices,” the broker says.