Using data from VesselsValue, a Veson Nautical solution, Rebecca Galanopoulos has analyzed the global container fleet, finding Swiss based MSC currently owns the most expensive fleet with a value of $49.6 billion.
This company is also the largest in terms of vessel numbers with a total of 707 vessels, of which 584 are live and 125 on order.
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 ULCVs, accounting for around c.59% of the orderbook and the remainder of orders are in the New Panamax category.
Values for the container vessel type have increased across most sub sectors and age ranges this year, particularly for older ships. For example, 15-year-old Sub Panamax container vessels of 2,500 TEU have increased by c.19.96% from the start of the year from $26.4 million to $31.67 million.
In second place is French owner, CMA CGM whose fleet is valued at $35.5 billion and a total of 339 vessels. This fleet is almost entirely dedicated to the container sector with 243 live vessels ranging from Feedermaxes to ULCVs, 95 vessels on order, c.53% in the ULCV sector, c.34% in New Panamax sector, and the remaining c.13% in the Post Panamax sector.
BoComm leasing is the third largest owner through leasing arrangements in dollar terms, with a fleet value of $33.3 billion. However, this fleet ranks second in terms of size with a portfolio of 411 vessels spanning all major sectors, including bulkers, tankers, containers, gas carriers, RoRos, and vehicle carriers.
The gas sectors have the highest percentage of the fleet both live and on order with LNG vessels leading the way at c.76%. Modern and newly built LNG vessels will inherently be dual fuel, but older vessels typically were not built with such a design. However, some vessels may have been built as dual-fuel ready, providing shipowners with the option to retrofit full dual-fuel systems when market conditions or regulations make the investment attractive.
Decarbonization 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 the IMO. The multigas carrier sector is the fleet with the largest percentage of vessels in band A at c.21% and the container sector has the most vessels within bands A-C with c.67% of the fleet achieving a rating within this range.
