According to Alphaliner data, there was a drop in demolition sales of containerships in 2024, with the number of ships sold for recycling falling by half compared to 2023.
The primary reason for the major decline in demolition sales was the continued strong performance of the freight and charter markets. These markets provided shipowners with strong financial incentives to retain their older vessels rather than scrap them.

In addition, a key factor contributing to the lack of demolition was the disruption of the Suez Canal route, leading vessels to divert around the Cape of Good Hope. That not only helped to absorb all the newbuilding capacities but also triggered a strong demand for charter market tonnage. Furthermore, in 2024, 56 cellular container vessels were sold for recycling, totaling 80,950 TEU in capacity, which is half of the 162,000 TEU disposed of in 2023.
With charter rates nearly doubling from their 2023 levels for certain sizes of ships and reaching in 2024 their best ever levels apart from the exceptional post-Covid demand boom years of 2021 and 2022, ship owners have had the best reasons to hold on to their older ships and stay clear of the demolition scene.
…says Alphaliner.
Initially, experts anticipated a large increase in recycling sales due to factors like the ageing fleet, stricter environmental regulations, and the expected influx of 3 million TEU of newbuilding capacity. However, the expected surge in scrapping did not materialize.