Alphaliner

⚠️ Container planning changes between schedule releases. 🔀 Transit times move. Capacity shifts. Service patterns evolve week by week, sometimes before the impact is visible in rates, lead times or customer commitments. Published schedules only tell part of the story. 👨‍💻 Alphaliner’s APIs help turn live vessel and service data into practical benchmarks for day-to-day decisions: 🔸️ Transit Time API: Track actual transit time performance by lane and service. Compare routings, monitor consistency and identify where schedules are starting to drift. 🔸️ Capacity Watch API: Follow deployed capacity week on week. Spot service changes, vessel deployment shifts and forward capacity signals before they affect planning assumptions. 🧠 Together, they bring real-time container ship intelligence directly into your planning, commercial and operational workflows. ✅ Less guesswork. Better benchmarks. Faster and more accurate decisions. 👀 Want to see how this maps to your key loops and trade lanes? 💡 Book your demo with our team today: cdanalytics.axsmarine.com/axsmarinecom-a…

✨Last week, we had the pleasure of being represented by Sinem Sen and Mirna Haddadin at the three-day Mediterranean Ports and Logistics 2026 event in Porto. 📝 Alongside the conference programme, their busy agenda included customer visits, prospect meetings and supplier discussions across the port and logistics community, including port authorities, terminal operators and freight forwarders. 🎉 A particular highlight cherished by Sinem and Mirna was the reception dinner hosted by YILPORT Holding Inc., which brought together familiar faces from across the port and logistics community. 🙌 Thank you to everyone who took the time to meet with our colleagues in Porto. We look forward to continuing the discussions.

📰 Gulf Conflict: Uncertainty keeps tonnage supply tight! 📅 Nine weeks after the start of military action in the Middle East Gulf, commercial idling of container tonnage remains low. ℹ️ The idle vessel fleet briefly touched the 1% capacity mark for the first time in more than two years, but has since slipped back to 0.7%. At this level, the liner sector remains in “full employment”, with no signs of “structural” idling. 🔎 This does not mean the market is unaffected. Most carriers have had to adjust their networks in some way, and the operational impact of these changes continues to absorb vessel capacity. Diverted sailings, rescheduled loops, vessel detours and delays all add to effective tonnage demand. ✅ Alphaliner does not count every vessel stuck in or affected by the Middle East situation as “commercially idle”. This distinction matters. 🛳️ At least 58 container ships, representing around 310,000 teu, have diverted or sheltered due to the conflict. With widespread AIS transponder deactivation in the region, the actual figure could be higher. These vessels are not available for normal revenue service, which means this “forced inactivity” is draining supply even if it does not appear in the commercial idle fleet. 📊 As per our latest count, Alphaliner tallied 81 ships of 235,705 teu as commercially idle. 📉 Capacity tied up in drydock also declined moderately over the past fortnight, falling by almost 150,000 teu to 141 units of 656,707 teu. Combined, the idle and “in yard” fleet accounted for 2.7% of the global fleet. 👨‍💻 With Alphaliner’s AXSInsights module, you can monitor container ships in active service, commercially idle, or in shipyards and repair docks. 💡 Find out more and request a demo at public.axsmarine.com/axsinsights. 👈

📣 Carriers react to bunker price increase: One fleet, two speeds! 📅 Between Q4 2025 and Q2 2026 (to 14 April), the average speed of the container vessel fleet dropped by 2.3%, from 15.58 to 15.22 knots, with the move concentrated entirely after 28 February. 📊 On 14 April, Alphaliner recorded an average of 15.18 knots, the lowest reading since March 2023. 📈 Directly driving this deceleration, bunker prices moved sharply in the opposite direction, reaching all-time highs of $1,201 per tonne for VLSFO on 13 March and USD 2,018 per tonne for LSMGO on 3 April both in Singapore. 🔍 The Gulf crisis’ impact on speeds however is not homogenous across all trades. 🌐 North-South trades slowed the most. Far East - South America and Far East - ANZ both lost 3.6% over the period. 🚢 Long sea-passages make speed cuts even more valuable and these services usually carry enough slack to absorb slower steaming without breaking schedule frequency. The Transpacific and Transatlantic also clearly reacted to fuel price increases: Far East - East Coast of North America reduced speed by 2.2%, Far East – West Coast North America by 1.8%, and the North Atlantic by 1.5%. ✅ Read the full story and subscribe for the latest news in Liner shipping at public.axsmarine.com/alphaliner/pub….

📊 Are you making carrier decisions based on rate cards and gut feel - or actual performance data? 🌐 Transit times and capacity swing week to week. Without real-time benchmarks on existing services, you aren't planning - you're guessing. And while you guess, your competitors optimize. 🧭 Here are two game changer tools: 🔹 Transit Time API - Monitor lane and service-level transit time performance. Benchmark your service against competitors objectively. See which operators consistently deliver on their schedule. Spot weak loops before they cascade. 🔹 Capacity Watch API - Track deployed capacity patterns week on week. Identify early service shifts, anticipate capacity changes before they impact your rates and lead times, and see weeks ahead with predictive schedule visibility. 💡 Together, they give your team the fact-based clarity to plan with confidence, reduce costly last-minute expediting, and negotiate carrier contracts from a position of strength. ⏱️ Worth 20 minutes to see how this maps to your key loops and trade lanes? 👉 Book your demo with the Alphaliner team today at cdanalytics.axsmarine.com/axsmarinecom-a…

📢 The Xinde Marine Forum Singapore 2026 brought together the industry to navigate disruption and set a new course, and our team - Keston Chia, Chavmaine Aw, Saranya Sivakumar, and Rinaldi Gumulya were proud to be part of it! 🎙️ Rinaldi had the privilege of moderating a panel discussion that brought together a well-balanced mix of voices - carriers, shipowners, and macro-level thinkers - each offering a distinct perspective on the challenges shaping container shipping today. ⚓ The conversation touched on what matters most right now: ongoing disruptions, massive orderbooks, shifting trade flows, and fragmenting regulatory frameworks - and how the interplay of all these forces is defining the new balance for the sector. 💡 Events like this are a reminder of why bringing together different parts of the industry in one room matters. The insights that emerge from those conversations are exactly what help us serve our clients better in a rapidly changing maritime landscape. 🤝 Thank you to the Xinde Marine Forum team for a world-class event.

📢 All three non-Iranian container ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz yesterday reportedly came under attack, with two confirmed seized. 1️⃣ EPAMINONDAS (7,200 TEU, Technomar-owned, on @MSCCargo charter) was hit by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades while transiting eastbound, sustaining bridge damage before being seized by the IRGC. AIS signals place the vessel currently stationary between Qeshm, Larak, and Hormuz islands. 2️⃣ MSC FRANCESCA (11,200 TEU, MSC-owned) was intercepted eastbound, reportedly damaged and subsequently detained. Its last AIS position showed it stopped off the Iranian coast on the east side of the Strait. 3️⃣ A third vessel, EUPHORIA (UAE-owned), was also reported fired upon during transit but continued its voyage and is now  offshore Fujairah east of the Strait. ⚠️ The incidents mark a major escalation for container shipping, with liner traffic now directly exposed to the coercive risks. Yet the attacks also cap a broader pattern visible in container traffic through Hormuz over the past month and a half. 🛰️ Alphaliner AIS-derived data has recorded 54 container ship crossings across 53 days since 1 March. Half of them involved Iranian-flagged or Iranian-owned vessels operating on domestic and state-linked routes. The remaining 27 were non-Iranian. 🔎 Persistent Iran-linked and regional feeder traffic has continued, while participation by international liner operators has become sporadic and increasingly vulnerable. 🕵️ Among non-Iranian crossings, the overwhelming majority involved small feeder and regional tonnage, rather than sustained participation by the mainline container trades. 📝 Meaningful deepsea liner participation has been limited to a handful of notable exceptions: 🔸 1 March: @Maersk recorded the last conventional mainline transit before widespread withdrawal with the ASTRID MAERSK. 🔸 30 March: two large @COSCOSHIPPING vessels (CSCL INDIAN OCEAN and CSCL ARCTIC OCEAN) transited outbound the Persian (Arabian) Gulf. 🔸 2 April: CMA CGM KRIBI (@cmacgm-owned) recorded a single isolated crossing, not repeated. 🔸 21 April: TEMA EXPRESS, owned by @HapagLloydAG reappeared after a month-long AIS blackout on the east side of the Strait. 🔸 22 April: the first significant non-Iranian capacity attempt outside the apparent exemption framework in three weeks ended with all three vessels attacked. ℹ️ A notable share of non-Iranian feeder crossings has also involved opaque ownership structures, suggesting parallel regional networks may have helped sustain residual corridor activity despite disruption.

📢 MSC and ONE largest year-on-year winners in ‘reefer ranking’! 🏆 The top-10 carriers have jointly increased their reefer capacity by 7.9% since April 2025. 📈 MSC showed the largest year-on-year growth, adding almost 100,000 reefer plugs (+15.3%). The reefer increase slightly exceeds its overall 13.1% fleet growth. 📊 ONE is another carrier having extensively increased its reefer capacity. Growth stood at 14.5% y-o-y, which is well above its 5.9% overall fleet growth. 🛳️ The main reason is the commissioning of nine 13,900 teu newbuildings with high reefer specs. Five of these new ‘S-class’ ships trade between Asia and Latin America. 🔗 Theoretically, if ONE would connect all of its 215,875 reefer slots with 40-foot reefer boxes, it could use one fifth of its overall vessel capacity for the carriage of temperature-controlled cargo. 🔍 In general, European carriers such as @Maersk (23.8%) or CMA CGM (23.5%) have percentagewise more reefer capacity compared to Asian competitors such as COSCO (16.4%) or Yang Ming (16.2%). ✅ Read the full story and subscribe for the latest news in Liner shipping at public.axsmarine.com/alphaliner/pub….

🎉 Container shipping hits new capacity milestones across multiple fronts! 📢 @MSCCargo fleet has now exceeded 7.3 Mteu of total capacity, setting a new all-time record in the history of container shipping. The Geneva-based carrier now controls approximately 21.6% of the global fleet. 🌐 At the same time, global container ship capacity has crossed the 34 Mteu mark for the first time. Of this, around 33.6 Mteu sits within the fully cellular fleet. 🗺️ On the trades side, Far East–Europe weekly capacity continues to expand, reaching a new historic high of over 540,000 TEU. 📋 Alphaliner's public Top 100 is a free, real-time ranking of the world's major container operators, including vessel counts, fleet capacities, orderbooks and market share, all in one place: alphaliner.axsmarine.com/PublicTop100/ 👨‍💻 Our AXSInsights module provides decades of historic data, allowing you to track the long-term evolution of each carrier at public.axsmarine.com/axsinsights.

🌍 Our Sinem Sen and Mirna Haddadin will be attending the Mediterranean Ports and Logistics 2026 in Portugal - one of the most prestigious gatherings in the regional maritime calendar. ⚓ Two packed days. 35 world-class speakers. 300+ professionals from across the industry. Port operators, terminal managers, shipping lines, freight forwarders, government officials, and logistics leaders all under one roof. The kind of room where the conversations that shape the industry actually happen. 🔍 The agenda tackles pressing challenges and cutting-edge innovations across port operations, shipping, supply chain, and logistics. 🤝 If you'll be in Portugal for the event, reach out to Mirna or Sinem - they'd love to connect in person. Find out more at #1687764695685-b4a6ec5d-05d8" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">transportevents.com/product/portug… 👈

🌊 Ongoing conflicts, rerouting, cascading capacity effects, uncertain freight rates - the industry is mid-transformation. 🎙️ That's exactly what will be on the table at the Xinde Marine Forum Singapore 2026 - and we're proud that our Rinaldi Gumulya will be moderating one of the key sessions next week. ⚓ Panel Discussion 1 - New Balance for Container Shipping: Route Reconfiguration and Newbuilding - brings together some of the sharpest minds shaping liner strategy today: Constantin Baack (CEO, MPC Capital AG & MPC Container Ships ASA), Kun Li (EVP & CCO, Seaspan), Dr. Martin Kröger (CEO, German Shipowners' Association VDR), Zhi-Lin Liu (GM Trade Development & Planning, Pacific International Lines). 📍 If you're joining us in Singapore next week, make sure you're in the room for this one - jsj.top/f/Qgpq1r

📢 Regional Asian demand transforms mid-tier carrier profits! 📈 Mid-tier carriers operating outside the principal East-West trade routes saw strong earnings development in 2025, significantly outperforming the mainline carriers on a year-on-year basis. 📊 Several medium-sized lines posted increases in operating and net income for the year contrasting with the top-10 container carriers which all logged a fall-off compared to 2024. These year-on-year declines ranged from -34% to -88%. 💡 By comparison, smaller lines such as SITC, Samudera, Nantong Ocean Shipping (NBOSCO), Antong Shipping and Zhonggu Logistics posted profit increases, driven by strong demand in China and the intra-Asia region, and further boosted by tight tonnage supply and service expansion. 🌐 Hong Kong-listed SITC recorded a net profit of USD 1.2 bn, up 20% y-o-y, after average freight rates rose on its routes across Southeast Asia and India. It expanded its fleet by more than 15% in 2025. 🔍 Thai-based RCL also grew operations and its freight income rose 5%. After adjusting for special items and currency, it produced a dollar net profit of USD 247.5 M, slightly above 2024. 💪 Most striking however were results for China’s medium-sized carriers: Shanghai listed NBOSCO and Antong Shipping increased net profit by 18% and 78%, while Zhonggu’s results were up 27% at the nine-month stage. ✅ Read the full story and subscribe for the latest news in Liner shipping at public.axsmarine.com/alphaliner/pub….

📢 We are thrilled to be sponsoring the Xinde Marine Forum Singapore 2026 - a world-class maritime event bringing together policymakers, shipowners, investors, and many more from across the globe. 💡 This year's theme - "Navigating Disruption, Setting a New Course" - speaks directly to what we do every day: helping our clients make sense of a rapidly changing maritime landscape. 🙌 Representing our team at the forum will be Keston Chia, Chavmaine Aw, Saranya Sivakumar and Rinaldi Gumulya. If you're joining us in Singapore on April 21, we'd love to connect!

🤠 Throwback to this year's Houston Rodeo - what a night! 🌟 Every year, this event reminds us why we do what we do. It's not just about business, but about the people behind it. 🤝 We had a fantastic turnout this year, and it was truly wonderful to spend time with our Houston clients in a setting that's a little more relaxed, a little more personal, and a whole lot of fun. 💛 The Houston Rodeo is one of the most anticipated events on our calendar, and judging by the smiles in the room, our clients feel the same way. These moments of connection, laughter, and genuine conversation are what make the partnerships we build so meaningful. 👋 A special shoutout to our Sofía Rodríguez and Cesar Rodriguez for representing the team and making the night even more special! 📸 Swipe through for a few highlights from the night. See you next year!

📢 The 30th edition of Intermodal South America is almost here - and Sofía Rodríguez and Cesar Rodriguez will be there representing our team at the largest logistics and freight transport event in the Americas. 🌟 This is where the Latin American logistics world comes together. Decision-makers, innovators, and industry leaders all under one roof. A landmark moment for the sector, and we're proud to be part of it. 🤝 If you're attending, don't miss the chance to connect with Sofia and Cesar on the ground. We'd love to meet you, exchange ideas, and explore how we can bring more intelligence to your operations.

📢 Decline of Non-Operating Owners’ vessel fleet slows down! ⏳ The fleet of Non-Operating Owners (NOO) in the 700 - 9,000 teu sizes, the most traded in the charter market, continued to shrink in the last twelve months, but at a slower pace. 📉 Since Alphaliner’s last review in March 2025, tonnage providers lost a further 250,000 teu of capacity. This added to a net loss of 2.3 Mteu incurred since late 2020, when carriers started raiding the second-hand containership market in the aftermath the Covid-pandemic. 📅 The last twelve months saw NOOs selling 130 vessels for around 380,000 teu to end users, who continued to tap significantly into the fleet. This is the main cause of the NOO fleet decline and it compares to 168 vessels for 633,000 teu sold to end users in the April 2024 - March 2025 period. 💰 MSC was again, and by far, the biggest buyer of NOO tonnage, with 65 ships for 230,000 teu joining its fleet during the last twelve months up to March, of which only 17 units were already on charter to the Switzerland-based company. In total, MSC has bought a mind-blowing 415 NOO vessels for a whopping 1.6 Mteu since the carrier embarked on an unprecedented raid on the sale and purchase market in August 2020. ℹ️ Tonnage providers meanwhile bought only a meagre 13,000 teu from end users in the April 2025-March 2026 period, while newbuilding deliveries to NOOs were a little more substantial, with 117,000 teu hitting the water during this period. The net gain of 250,000 teu shows a slowdown in the meltdown of the NOO fleet, compared to the previous years. ✅ Read the full story and subscribe for the latest news in Liner shipping at public.axsmarine.com/alphaliner/pub….

🕵️ While attention remains fixed on geopolitics, the data tells a much more complex story. 🛰️ Based on Alphaliner's AIS tracking data reported in March, the container shipping market is entering a highly unusual phase: 🔸 AIS disruption near Hormuz has reached record levels, with dozens of container ships effectively “going dark” 🔸 Over 130 container vessels are now unable to exit the Gulf, creating a real bottleneck in global flows 🔸 Despite this, the charter market remains remarkably strong — with tight tonnage and long forward fixtures 🔸 Vessel idling is still below 1%, but this is partly artificial, as capacity is effectively locked out of the market 🔸 Meanwhile, fleet growth continues, and Far East–Europe deployment has just hit new all-time highs 🧠 In other words, the market is tight. For reasons that go well beyond supply and demand. 👨‍💻 We’ve broken this down in a new data-driven article, combining AIS signals with Alphaliner datasets to explain what is really happening behind the headlines. 👇 Read the full analysis: public.axsmarine.com/blog/key-conta…

🔂 Key container shipping developments reported by Alphaliner in March 2026 highlighted a market navigating both disruption and growth. 🔎 Highlights included: 🔸 Over 130 container ships trapped in the Gulf due to Middle East conflict 🔸 Maersk expands capacity in intra-European trade 🔸 Transshipment hubs drive global port growth 🔸 Carrier margins decline but remain above historical levels 💪 A market that is under pressure operationally, but still structurally resilient. 📝 We’ve summarized the key developments shaping container shipping this month in a new article. 👇 Read the full blog: public.axsmarine.com/blog/notable-c…