Liner operators are snapping up secondhand containership tonnage because buying vessels in today’s market is often cheaper than chartering them.
The emerging trend worries tonnage providers, who fear it will reduce the demand for chartered tonnage, which is the lifeblood of their business.
The acquisition of vessels by liner companies “is obviously not good” for outfits that provide tonnage to the containership charter market, said Simon Aust, managing director of German tonnage provider Blue Net Chartering (BNC).
