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A record 91 containerships were ordered from shipyards worldwide in May with a combined capacity of 610,000 TEU, according to figures compiled by ASX AlphaLiner News.
The newsletter said orders placed in the single month of May were equivalent in container carrying capacity to the total amount ordered during the previous six month period with 170 ships ordered from November 1, 2006 to April 30.
May's orders have expanded the global containership order book to an historic 5.25 million TEU spread over 1,339 newbuilds. The number of vessels on order, the news agency said is equivalent to 51.8 per cent of today's world fleet with deliveries scheduled through to early 2011.
Notable features of the vessels on order during the reporting period are 12 super panamax containerships that range in size from 12,300-12,800 TEU, eight of which have been ordered by Peter Dohle, and four units by Lloyd Fond/NSC Schiffahrt, which has options to purchase four more of what will become the world's largest containerships.
With regard to other very large container ships (VLCS) 7,500 TEU and above, there are 168 such vessels in service and 192 on order, representing 35.5 per cent of the total orderbook in TEU terms. The report added that the world's fleet is expected to grow 14.1 per cent in TEU a year from January 2007 to January 1, 2010.
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