According to reporting from The Maritime Executive, the global containership demolition market is at 20-year lows. Data from Alphaliner indicates that ocean carriers are still holding on to their older vessels.
BIMCO has highlighted the significant overhang in container vessel supply due to an extended period of low recycling activity. In its October 2025 assessment, BIMCO estimated the recycling deficit at 1.8 million TEU. Despite this imbalance, the appetite for newbuilds remains strong. Linerlytica calculated that at the end of 2025, the orderbook for newbuilds totaled just over 11.7 million TEU, representing a 35% orderbook-to-fleet ratio. Year-over-year, orders were up by 36%.
Several major container shipping companies continued their newbuilding commitments during the final weeks of 2025 and into early 2026.
Maersk confirmed in early February, orders for eight larger newbuilds scheduled for delivery across 2029 and 2030. Maersk’s head of chartering and newbuilding, Anda Cristescu, described the move as a deliberate step to maintain a competitive fleet profile and ensure deployment flexibility.
MSC has also continued to expand, extending its lead as the world’s largest ocean carrier. The carrier confirmed options for eight additional dual‑fuel LNG‑powered vessels. As reported by splash247, MSC now has more than 2.1m TEU on order, approaching 30% of its existing fleet capacity.
COSCO shipping announced in mid-January it had placed orders for 18 container vessels valued at $2.7 billion. Evergreen also joined the wave of investments, with an order of 23 vessels valued close to $1.5 billion focused on feeder and mid-sized tonnage. As reported by Seatrade Maritime News, this will take Evergreen’s orderbook to 76 ships worth over $11 billion. Similarly, Hansa.News reported that Yang Ming has planned to expand its fleet from 725,000 TEU to 1.25 million TEU.
These ongoing investments make clear that competition among carriers remains as intense as ever. Alphaliner wrote in a recent online post, “The healthy container shipping market, with a high demand for tonnage and robust charter rates throughout the year have explained in great part shipowners’ reluctance to dispose of their older tonnage, preferring instead to make the most of the lucrative trading environment.”
Source: The Maritime Executive, BIMCO, splash247, Seatrade Maritime News, Hansa.News