The kamsarmax fleet has hit the 100m dwt milestone, according to new data from Braemar ACM, with a strong start to the year in terms of newbuild deliveries.
A total of 16 kamsarmaxes have been delivered so far this year, adding 1.3% in terms of dwt capacity to this dry bulk segment.
Kamsarmaxes – essentially oversize panamaxes – first hit the waters in 2005. The first of this now popular ship type was built by Japan’s Tsuneishi Shipbuilding. The 80,000 dwt prototype was called a kamsarmax, being the largest size vessel that could then enter Port Kamsar, a bauxite export zone in Guinea. Since the first ship delivered, kamsarmaxes have become increasingly popular – made more so when the Panama Canal expanded its locks five years ago. In the last couple of years, the number of kamsarmaxes has actually surpassed their panamax forebears (see chart below).
Standard panamaxes have seen a decline in fleet size so far this year, with six vessels removed and only one delivery in the opening weeks of 2021, resulting in a fall in carrying capacity of nearly 1%.
Braemar ACM expects another 66 kamsarmaxes to be delivered in 2021, representing 5% of the current fleet. Meanwhile, only six panamaxes are scheduled for delivery over the remainder of 2021 further widening the gap between these two dry bulk segments.
