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Container lines cut Asia vessel capacity 23% - Ocean InsightsContainer lines cut Asia vessel capacity 23% - Ocean Insights

Container lines reduced vessel capacity in the Asia trades by some 23% between mid-January and mid-March this year as smaller vessels were deployed according Ocean Insights (OI).

Marcus Hand, Editor

March 26, 2020

1 Min Read
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Looking at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the container shipping market OI said that lines had responded by replacing larger volume vessels with smaller ones, in particular on the Asia trades.

“This is reflected in measured Vessel Capacity (in teu) across major carriers which is especially strong in the Asian trade lanes with a 23% detected decrease from mid-January to mid-March,” OI said.

vesselcapacity2020.jfif

“In comparison, the global decline is less acute with a 7% decrease from a peak of 16.8m teu capacity in mid-January to a low of 15.5m teu measured capacity.”

Blank sailings have been a major means of managing capacity in container shipping has been blank sailings. “The OI system has detected an ‘unusually high’ number of blank sailings,” the analyst commented.

Its system counted 386 blank sailing announcements that will take place between mid-March until the end of April 2020.

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About the Author

Marcus Hand

Editor

Marcus Hand is the editor of Seatrade Maritime News and a dedicated maritime journalist with over two decades of experience covering the shipping industry in Asia.

Marcus is also an experienced industry commentator and has chaired many conferences and round tables. Before joining Seatrade at the beginning of 2010, Marcus worked for the shipping industry journal Lloyd's List for a decade and before that the Singapore Business Times covering shipping and aviation.

In November 2022, Marcus was announced as a member of the Board of Advisors to the Singapore Journal of Maritime Talent and Technology (SJMTT) to help bring together thought leadership around the key areas of talent and technology.

Marcus is the founder of the Seatrade Maritime Podcast that delivers commentary, opinions and conversations on shipping's most important topics.

Conferences & Webinars

Marcus Hand regularly moderates at international maritime events. Below you’ll find a list of selected past conferences and webinars.

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