The imminent suspension of several liner services between Asia and the U.S. East Coast and South America during the slack shipping season threatens to put as many as 50 Panamax container ships out of work by January, according to Alphaliner.
And the jobless total is set to soar to more than 200 by the second half of 2016 as the opening of the new Panama Canal locks in April likely will see 8,000-13,000 twenty-foot-equivalent unit vessels replace many of the 238 Panamax vessels of 4,000-5,100 TEUs currently deployed on services through the waterway, the industry analyst says.
Unlike in previous years, when the resumption of Far East-U.S. East Coast services in the spring boosted demand for Panamax ships, carriers are expected to deploy much larger vessels on the route due to the opening of an enlarged Panama Canal, Alphaliner forecasts.