Container vessels lead shipping industry on efficiency ratings

MSC currently owns the most expensive feet, values for container vessels have increased across most types, and the box ship sector is at the top when it comes to efficiency, according to VesselsValue data.

Veson Nautical subsidiary VesselsValue’s data shows in terms of the top 10 global beneficial owners by value, Switzerland-based MSC currently owns the most expensive fleet with a value of US$50Bn. This is also the largest in terms of vessel numbers with 707 vessels, of which 584 are live and 125 on order. 

Veson Nautical senior content analyst Rebecca Galanopoulos comments, “The vast majority of this fleet is in the container sector with Panamaxes and post-Panamaxes accounting for around half of this segment.” 

Within the orderbook, MSC has invested heavily in ultra large container ships, accounting for around 59% of the orderbook and the remainder of orders are in the new Panamax category.

VesselsValue data shows values for the container vessel type have increased across most sub sectors and age ranges this year, particularly for older ships. Ms Galanopoulos said, “For example, 15-year-old sub Panamax container vessels of 2,500 TEU have increased by 20% from the start of the year from US$26M to US$32M. Given that there are a number of container owners in the top 10, this would have a significant positive impact on fleet values.”

In second place is French owner, CMA CGM with a fleet valued at US$36Bn and 339 vessels. This fleet is almost entirely dedicated to the container sector with 243 live vessels.  

Ms Galanopoulos commented, “Decarbonisation is of increasingly high importance to the global fleet and a growing percentage of the overall fleet ranks highly in the mandatory energy efficiency ratings from IMO.” 

While the multigas sector is the fleet with the largest percentage of vessels in band A at around 21%, the container sector has the most vessels within bands A-C with approximately 67% of the fleet achieving a rating within this range.