Liner shipping continues its spending spree with more vessel orders and second-hand vessels with trade associations urging the EU to support the sector on its path to decarbonise supply chains, fostering open trade and protecting critical sea lanes from geopolitical disruptions.
In 2024, Swiss based MSC continued its spending spree of the last few years, adding a further 63 second hand vessels to their fleet, mainly in the container sector, according to data from VesselsValue.
The company had also 64 new orders, senior content analyst Rebecca Galanopoulos said, which included a combination of ULCVs and new panamax container vessels, all scheduled to be built at Chinese yards and delivered from 2026-2029.
Switzerland has reentered the top 10 this year with a fleet value of $68bn, this is largely due to the firming of the container values due to improved market sentiment, along side continued investment from MSC.
However, the non-profit trade association World Shipping Council (WSC) called on the Commission to recognise that liner shipping is investing in Europe and urged the Commission to support the sector.
“We are happy to see the Commission’s recognition that decarbonisation can drive competitiveness, and its commitment to intertwine it with EU economic, competition, and trade policies,” WSC president and CEO Joe Kramek said.
“This is the moment for Europe to seize the opportunity to support shipping in contributing to the competitiveness of a sustainable future EU economy,” he added.
With exports bringing over €2 trillion to the EU each year, the movement of goods across oceans is essential to Europe. In fact, 90% of goods by volume enters and leaves the EU by sea transport.
The coming years will require the creation of a maritime space without barriers, WSC says, the removal of customs formalities for goods transported by sea intra EU, the streamlining of external border controls, the harmonisation of rules and the further reduction of bureaucracy.
