The week in charts: Seafarer abandonment a rising problem in small registries | Egypt insists Red Sea security dynamics have shifted | Boxship recycling nosedives
Lloyd’s List’s weekly showing of the data and figures behind our news, analysis and markets coverage
Tanzania, Cameroon, Comoros, Palau, and St Kitts and Nevis are worst on an abandonment per vessel ratio; Suez Canal traffic for April remains 58% lower than in April 2023, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence vessel-tracking data; Last year, 903 arrivals into the US by Greece-owned vessels were Chinese-built
THE rapid growth of seafarer abandonment cases over the past 18 months is increasingly concentrated on vessels registered to a group of smaller flags with poor safety records, according to analysis of Lloyd’s List Intelligence data, wrote news reporter Joshua Minchin.
An analysis of Lloyd’s List Intelligence data reveals the flag states with the highest frequency of abandonments in their fleets.
Panama had the most abandonments in 2024, but it is also the world’s second-largest registry by tonnage, and flags more than double the number of vessels of the next five registries with the most abandonments.
By contrast, Panama’s figure was 0.004, some orders of magnitude below the other five. Between 2020 and 2024, Tanzania, Cameroon, Comoros, Palau, and St Kitts and Nevis grew 76%, 119%, 109%, 141% and 143%, respectively (by vessel count).
There has been a material shift in Red Sea security dynamics, according to the Egyptian government, which is seeking to stem $8bn of revenue losses from the Suez Canal, reported editor-in-chief Richard Meade.
Egypt has been haemorrhaging $800m a month since the beginning Houthi attacks on shipping last year and despite a ceasefire agreement being announced traffic has not materially changed.
Earlier this month the Suez Canal Authority offered containerships a 15% discount on transit fees as the government stepped up efforts to lure shipping back.
Suez Canal traffic for April remains 58% lower than in April 2023, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence vessel-tracking data.
More than 20% of US voyages made by Greek fleet exposed to port fees
LAST year, 24% of the Greece-owned fleet’s calls to the US were made by ships built in China, which would have exposed these owners and operators to upwards of $1bn in fees under the current US port fee proposal, reported senior risk and compliance analyst, Bridget Diakun.
In 2024, the Greek fleet made 3,749 journeys to US ports, equating to approximately 281.7m dwt.
Journeys refers to vessels arriving to US ports from foreign markets, rather than the sheer volume of calls to US ports, which is in line with how fees are to be assessed.
CMA CGM continues to lead the way on alternative-fuel containership fleet
The world’s third-largest container line operator, CMA CGM, remains the leader when it comes to the ordering of alternative-fuel containerships, reported markets editor, Rob Willmington.
The French carrier has contracted 168 newbuildings since 2017 capable of utilising either liquefied natural gas or methanol fuel.
Of CMA CGM’s dual-fuel vessel orders, 32 were contracted (in 2022 and 2023) to methanol dual-fuel specification. But orders for methanol dual-fuel containerships have tailed off since 2023, with a surge in the ordering of LNG dual-fuel containerships from the second quarter of 2024.
Data tracked by Lloyd’s List shows that of the 120 containerships ordered since the beginning of 2025, more than half were of LNG dual-fuel specification.
Boxship recycling nosedives as less than 2,000 teu of capacity sold for scrap
Containership recycling volumes in the first five months of this year are at the lowest levels seen since 2005 as container line operators continue to operate vessels far beyond their anticipated lifespans, wrote Rob Willmington.
Just five containerships have been sold for scrap since January, with three of these being committed to recyclers in the past two weeks.
Braemar container market analyst Jonathan Roach said the limited amount of boxship recycling sales were all elderly small feeder vessels.
“The ancient vessels sold so far this year have only been forced into retirement due to mechanical problems, rather than market dynamics,” Roach told Lloyd’s List.
