Friday, June 27, 2025
Home News Improved vessel delays may release more capacity: Sea-Intelligence

Improved vessel delays may release more capacity: Sea-Intelligence

In March, the fleet absorption from vessel delays was 5.7% of the global fleet, translating to an improvement from the recent peak of 7.5% in January, according to the latest report by Danish shipping data analysis company Sea-Intelligence.

“When vessel delays occur, a percentage of the global vessel capacity is effectively absorbed and hence unavailable to the market,” explains Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence, adding that “historically, this percentage has tended to be within 1%-3%, with a few spikes in the 3%-5% range, on account of major disruptive events.”

It is noteworthy that at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the most disruptive event in the world in the last years, this figure nearly touched 14%.

“Putting it in context, the Red Sea crisis is almost a non-event, compared to the pandemic disruptions,” points out Murphy. “It is important to note that this measures just the capacity absorbed from vessel delays and comes in addition to the capacity being absorbed by the longer route going around Africa.”

Source: Sea-Intelligence.com, Sunday Spotlight, issue 663

That said, there is always some “normal” background level of vessel delays, which absorbs part of the global capacity.

This background level should be removed from the calculation to better gauge the fleet capacity impact of specific events like the pandemic or the Red Sea crisis, according to the Danish analysts.

In the above figure, in which the background level has been removed, we can see how the impact of various types of delays in 2011-2019 had almost no real impact on the capacity availability in the market as a whole.

Murphy said, “We can also clearly see the pandemic impact peaking in January 2022, where 13.8% of global capacity was rendered unavailable. Here in early 2024, we did indeed have a small spike again, but it is rapidly being removed.”

He continued, “If the round-Africa services begin to operate at reliability levels matching the pre-pandemic era, then this absorbed capacity will be returned to the market, and we could see up to 4% additional capacity fed into the market in 2024. This would then come on top of the 9% of new vessel deliveries in 2024, further worsening the overcapacity challenge for the shipping lines.”





Antonis Karamalegkos
Managing Editor

Latest Posts

Transpacific crash may normalise charter market

Containership charter rates, which have defied the freight slump for some time, could be peaking, as some small ships chartered by opportunistic operators for...

Shipping alliances carriers and MSC control over 80% of market

As the container shipping industry continues its transformation, strategic cooperation among carriers remains a key force shaping global trade. According to updated Alphaliner data,...

Konecranes delivers crane package for BAE Systems’ in Scotland

Konecranes has completed a turnkey crane project for BAE Systems’ brand-new shipbuilding hall in Govan, Scotland. The installation, finished in June 2025, includes two electric...

Kalmar launches digital tool to streamline equipment inspections

Kalmar has introduced Inspector, a new digital application designed to streamline daily inspections of material handling equipment. Inspector enhances the efficiency of routine equipment checks...

Tariff fever fuels shipping surge, hangover looms

Global merchandise trade is enjoying a sudden growth spurt, but shipping executives warn the boom could prove as short-lived as a sugar rush. As Bloomberg...
error: Content is protected !!