Global ship demolition volume surged sharply in 2025. As shipowners concentrated on scrapping a batch of aging bulk carriers, shadow fleet tankers, and steam turbine gas carriers, the year-on-year increase in demolition volume reached 65%.
Lloyd’s List Intelligence data shows that the total tonnage of global ship demolition in 2025 reached 7.9 million gross tons, a significant increase from 4.7 million gross tons in 2024, setting the highest demolition volume record since 2021—a period when the pandemic disrupted the market, with approximately 15 million gross tons from 671 ships being demolished that year.
It is noteworthy that despite the sharp rise in demolition tonnage, the actual number of ships demolished in 2025 fell year-on-year to 298, lower than the 322 in 2024 (which itself was a period of extremely low demolition activity). Last year, shipowners concentrated on phasing out a batch of aging bulk carriers, shadow fleet tankers, and steam turbine gas carriers, driving the significant growth in demolition tonnage.
Annual Demolition Volume by Ship Type (Gross Tonnage)
The discrepancy between the number of ships demolished and the total tonnage reflects a clear shift in the composition of ships sent for demolition. In 2025, shipowners disposed of a large number of large commodity carriers, which pushed up the total demolition tonnage even as the number of ships demolished decreased. Among these, aging bulk carriers accounted for a significant proportion of the demolition tonnage, alongside older tankers linked to the shadow fleet and steam turbine-powered gas carriers. Such vessels generally face the dual challenges of rising operational costs and increasing regulatory pressure.
Furthermore, increasingly stringent environmental regulations, the bleak profit prospects for older ship types, and uncertainty about future fuel pathways have collectively prompted shipowners to accelerate the retirement of aging assets. Although the current demolition volume remains far below 2021 levels, the 2025 data marks a resurgence of growth momentum in the demolition market, especially for large, obsolete ship types whose commercial value continues to decline.
Bulk carriers became the absolute main force in the 2025 demolition market. A total of 72 bulk carriers, amounting to 2.5 million gross tons, were demolished throughout the year, contributing approximately 32% of last year’s total demolition tonnage.
Annual Demolition Count by Ship Type (Number of Ships)
Particularly noteworthy is that small Chinese shipowners have been sending Panamax bulk carriers built in the 1990s, primarily engaged in coal trade and facing special survey deadlines, for demolition. Demolition volume in the tanker sector also grew significantly, especially for some sanctioned crude and product tankers built in the 1990s and early 2000s, as shipowners chose to cash in rather than bear high maintenance costs. The main demolition focus was on aging Aframax and Panamax tankers.
Meanwhile, liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier demolition volume soared to a record level in 2025, as plummeting freight rates forced inefficient vessels out of the market. Lloyd’s List Intelligence data shows that 17 LNG carriers were sold for demolition last year, all using high-fuel-consumption steam turbine propulsion systems. With earnings falling below the break-even point, a large number of older LNG carriers are idle, and demolition activity is expected to accelerate further as market demand for older steam turbine ship types continues to shrink.
The surge in LNG sector demolition stands in stark contrast to the container ship market. Amid active charter markets but volatile freight rates, shipowners continued to operate older vessels, leading to a significant slowdown in container ship demolition activity.
Demolition Distribution by Country (Gross Tonnage)
According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data, only 10 container ships were sold for demolition last year, with a total capacity of 8,000 TEU. This makes 2025 likely to be the weakest year for container ship demolition activity in at least two decades.
With one exception—the 2,400 TEU steam turbine-powered ship “Horizon Enterprise” (built in 1980, 2,325 TEU) sold to an Indian shipbreaker in June—all container ships demolished last year were below 1,000 TEU, highlighting the general reluctance of shipowners to dispose of large vessels.
However, after four years of dormancy, the ship demolition industry is poised for a comeback. A wave of concentrated demolition of older ships is expected in 2026. Lloyd’s List forecasts a strong rebound in ship demolition, as shipbreaking yards across the Indian subcontinent have upgraded their facilities to comply with the Hong Kong Convention standards that came into effect in June 2025.
The massive delivery of newbuild container ships, the potential large-scale return of ships to the Suez Canal route, and the accelerated demolition of aging shadow fleet tankers are all expected to push up overall demolition volume within the next 12 months.
Demolition Distribution by Country (Number of Ships)
Despite ongoing geopolitical tensions and conflicts, freight markets across shipping sectors have shown unexpected resilience. However, the backlog of a large number of obsolete vessels continues to weigh on overall fleet capacity.
The full restoration of Red Sea routes, coupled with the massive delivery of newbuild container ships starting in the second quarter of 2026, is likely to push large container ships into the demolition market, while the number of older tankers currently operating on Russia-related routes will also continue to increase.
A peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia would further accelerate this trend, leading to the withdrawal of a large portion of the shadow fleet from the market.
That said, a significant increase in ship demolition volume ultimately depends on a sharp downturn in the freight market. Persistently low demolition prices may also continue to deter shipowners from sending older vessels for scrapping.
