Alphaliner studied traffic on the China – US West Coast route and found that the majority of ships still sails at speeds of 19-20 knots eastbound and 14-15 knots westbound: “The slowest ships in the trade operate at speeds as low as 13 knots; service speeds could thus be increased by 2-3 knots on the headhaul leg and 4 -5 knots on the backhaul, allowing overall transit times to be cut by 2-5 days in each direction.”Even though increasing the speed of vessels on certain routes would theoretically have numerous benefits at a time when bunker fuel has dropped below $200 per metric tonne (PMT), Alphaliner has found that carriers are resisting the urge to do so and maintaining a policy of slow steaming.
Alphaliner points out that an increase in speed and a shortening of rotation in the China to USWC loop from six to five weeks would result in additional daily bunker costs of $18,000-$30,000, and under normal circumstances this would be lower than the cost of chartering one extra ship.
It stated, “This should provide a strong financial incentive for carriers to abandon slow steaming; however, rock-bottom vessel charters and container leasing rates have deterred carriers from speeding up.”
