Boxship deliveries soar

Paris: Shipyards are due to deliver 278 container ships of 1.42m teu capacity in 2010 following record deliveries in the third quarter, a leading analyst forecast. Deliveries this year have already reached 1.29m teu -- including 468,000 teu in the third quarter -- substantially above the 1.07m teu delivered in 2009, according to Paris-based Alphaliner.?This is the second highest annual increase in capacity terms since the 1.57m teu delivered in 2008.?While the number of ships due for delivery this year is close to the 268 vessels that joined the world fleet in 2009, the average size of this year's ships has increased to 5,150 teu from 3,990 teu.?An additional 1.4m teu is scheduled for delivery in 2011, a high capacity growth rate that "remains one of the key concerns for the industry," according to Alphaliner. [27/10/10]