The containership market led Splash coverage this week, with the orderbook climbing to record levels and analysts warning of a prolonged supply glut.
The global orderbook now stands at 10.4m teu, or 31.7% of the existing fleet, the highest since 2010. Linerlytica cautioned that the industry is on track for another decade-long overhang, similar to what followed the 2004–2009 boom. More than 275 boxships have been ordered already in 2025, double the 10-year average, suggesting carriers are in no mood to ease off. Rival estimates from Clarksons and Alphaliner were slightly lower but still near the 10m teu mark, confirming the scale of the problem.
Balancing the boom looks increasingly unlikely. Xeneta’s Peter Sand noted that every containership built in 2009 or earlier would need to be scrapped to neutralise the orderbook, a scenario he dismissed as improbable. Just seven boxships, totalling under 4,000 teu, have been scrapped this year, pointing to the lowest annual demolition tally in over two decades. Analysts highlighted a mix of aging fleets, decarbonisation pressures and cash-rich carriers as the main drivers behind the spree, with Braemar projecting fleet overcapacity averaging 27% annually through 2028.
Against this backdrop, carriers pressed ahead with more big-ticket deals. Korea Marine Transport signed for four 13,000 teu ships at HD Hyundai in its boldest move yet, a $600m investment that marks a shift away from its traditional intra-Asia focus. The Korean line has also re-entered the transpacific market after four decades and recently launched a new Asia–Mexico loop.
Seaspan, the industry’s biggest boxship lessor, continued to expand its already bulging pipeline, ordering twelve 9,000 teu vessels in China for delivery from 2028. The ships, priced north of $100m each, were backed by renminbi financing from ICBC Financial Leasing, underlining the close alignment between Seaspan and Chinese state-owned yards.
Meanwhile, Orient Overseas (International) Ltd flagged the looming impact of new US port fees on Chinese-linked tonnage, set to take effect in October 2025. OOCL and parent COSCO are already rerouting services to Mexico to sidestep the charges. Despite these geopolitical headwinds, OOIL reported interim revenues up 5% to $4.88bn and profits climbing nearly 15% to $954m, helped by ongoing trade disruptions and supply chain realignments.
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