Liners continue to rush idled box ships back into action

MUMBAI: The idle fleet has been further reduced over the last two weeks, from 495 vessels of 1.24m TEU to 474 vessels of 1.22m TEU (9.3% of fleet capacity) currently, according to AXS-Alphaliner.

The Paris-based consultancy expects lower idle count going forward, as new services will be launched on the Asia - Europe trade (capacity on this route expected up 7%) and there is also a pickup in demand for smaller ships to service intra-regional trades.