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INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Classic Panamaxes see a revival 1

Corporate / Industry Updates Global Ship Lease details fleet emissions

3

Charter Market Report 5

Service Updates CMA CGM drops APL brand Transpacific: Capacity and spot rates hit

new heights SeaLand Asia launches South China -

North Vietnam -Philippines Service X-Press organizes direct Straits - Middle

East service Mercosul launches new Brazilian cabo-

tage loop NCL adds Tilbury to Northwest Europe-

Norway network Seabow launches Antwerp - Tilbury

‘Unisea’ service X-Press up-sizes Benelux - Baltic services Maersk harmonizes fleet of Europe-NCSA

-WCSA loop

12

Delivery/Vessel Updates

18

Port and Terminal Updates DPW & Israel firm sign MoU to develop

ports and trade Last of six new jumbo STS arrives at

Eurogate Hamburg

23

Inactive Fleet Report 4

Highest charter rates in nine years for Classic Panamaxes

Classic panamax (4,000-5,299 teu) charter rates have witnessed a rapid recov-ery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. After hitting lows of USD 6,500-7,000 per day in May, rates for both ‘maxi’ (5,000 teu) and ‘handy’ (4,250 teu) units have since been skyrocketing, reaching, in some cases, levels unseen in nearly a decade, especially in Asia.

The strong cargo demand on many routes, particularly on the Pacific and on the Asia-South America trades as well as the shortage of larger tonnage are driving this rally. Short employments are commanding especially healthy charter rates, as carriers are keen to cover their high-paying spot cargo requirements, but longer charters are also seeing fast improving figures.

Illustrating the current trends, a standard ‘maxi’ unit of 5,000 teu has obtained a stunning USD 20,000 per day for a Pacific round voyage of about 35 days, a level unseen for this type of ships since 2011. Rates for a more standard 12-month employment are lower but still rising fast, with one vessel obtaining USD 16,000 per day for a 12 month charter, the highest level seen for this type of vessels in five years.

‘Handy’ units of 4,200-4,300 teu are doing equally well. A 4,250 teu vessel, the NAVIOS VERDE obtained USD 16,750 for a Pacific round voyage, the highest level seen for this type of ships since 2011, although the years 2015 and 2019 did see rates approaching these levels, with ships fixing at USD 15,000 and 16,000 at some point, for generally longer employments.

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It is unclear how sustainable such rates will be as the current bonan-za on the cargo front may not last, considering the depressed state of the world economy and the ever-threatening COVID-19. A greater availability of larger tonnage, quite likely during and after the forth-coming Chinese Golden Week holiday, could also take its toll.

For now, however, these rates mark an undeniable comeback for ‘classic panamaxes’ which were badly hit by the opening up of the new large locks at the Panama Canal in June 2016 with ships of 10-15,000 teu generally replacing them on most East-West routes using the Canal.

Classic panamaxes’ have however found on new lease of life on re-gional and north-south trades. They have become particularly popular in Intra Asia but also on Africa-related routes, in Intra Europe, in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean. They are now also being used on some East-West routes as extra loaders, to address the shortage of larger units.

The current fleet of ‘classic panamaxes’ consists of 520 vessels (down from a peak of 670 units in 2013), of which 312 are NOO ton-nage, while 208 units are carriers-controlled.

‘Handy units’ of 4,250 teu account for the larger part of the fleet, with 343 vessels in service, while the ‘maxi’ units account for 177 ships. The average age of the ‘handy’ fleet is 13 years, and 15 years for the ‘maxi’ fleet. There are no ships currently on order.

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