Containers

Overview

The Container ship segment is a smaller but vital segment of commercial shipping with approximately 5,800 vessels in operation worldwide and terms of deadweight tonnage it is over 227 million dwt with the largest vessels having a capacity of over 24,000 TEUs (or standard 20ft containers)

Out of the 1,665 newbuild vessels delivered in 2023, container ships accounted for the highest percentage with 35.3% of the ship gross tonnage delivered and over 43% of the fleet is below 10 years of age.

Source: UNCTAD calculations, based on data from Clarksons Research Shipping Intelligence Network, Review of Maritime Transport 2024 as of 01 January 2024
Global merchant fleet – number of ships by type | Statista (60,000 ships), 2023

Wind Propulsion Development & Forecasts

The Container segment is the least developed of the wind propulsion markets mainly due to lack of deck space for deck mounted systems especially when considering retrofitability. Newbuild designs are however being developed and a number of vessels have been ordered ranging from small primary wind vessels that can carry 100-200 TEU up to designs for up to 4,500 TEU. The modular application of containerised systems is also currently being demonstrated on a small 1,036TEU feeder vessel