It is not so much a lack of interest from potential buyers as a reluctance to sell: the number of transactions on the second-hand market for container ships fell significantly in the first half of the year.
By 30 June, a total of 126 container ships with a combined capacity of 351,734 TEU had changed hands. This represents a significant decline compared with the previous year. From January to June 2025, the figure stood at 199 vessels with a capacity of 513,000 TEU, as calculated by the industry service Alphaliner in its latest market report. In the second half of 2025, too, the figure exceeded the sales figures from 2026: from July to December, 144 vessels with a capacity of 479,000 TEU changed hands.
This is not attributed to a decline in interest. Thanks to robust freight and charter markets, buyer interest in vessels of all sizes remained consistently high, which helped to keep prices for vessels of all sizes and ages at a stable level. Rather, the lower transaction volume is attributed to a shortage of ships immediately available for sale: “Many tonnage owners preferred to retain their vessels and continue to operate them profitably, rather than realise one-off capital gains,” the report states.
Liner shipping companies, as “end-users”, once again accounted for the majority of the tonnage sold: 61 vessels previously controlled by non-operating owners (NOOs) – representing 48% of all vessels traded. This proportion is slightly lower than in the same period last year, when 55% of sales were to end-users. MSC was once again by far the largest buyer, acquiring 23 vessels (21 of which were from NOOs), including four newbuilds, each with a capacity of 4,300 TEU, which were resold by Chinese owners.
The French shipping company CMA CGM, traditionally the second-largest buyer, remained very cautious with just one reported sale – compared with 19 purchases in the first half of the previous year.
NOOs were rather cautious on the S&P market. Alphaliner analysts attribute this to “the high price level as well as a shortage of suitable tonnage on the sales market”. The most active buyer in this group was MPC Container Ships; the Oslo-listed company, part of the Hamburg-based MPC Group, acquired four “SDARI Sealion 7000” container ships from X-Press Feeders and XT Shipping. It was followed by Metrostar Management (3 purchases), Chartworld (2), Costamare (2), Danaos (2) and Elbdeich (2).
The average age of the vessels sold remained at a relatively high level of 17 years, comparable to sales in the first half of 2025. Alphaliner recorded 25 sales in the 20–24-year age bracket and 16 sales of vessels aged 25 years or older. The majority of transactions (51) involved vessels aged between 15 and 19 years. There were only a few deals involving modern tonnage; just eleven vessels under five years old changed hands.
In terms of size, the vast majority of ships sold were vessels with a capacity of under 3,000 TEU – a total of 94 transactions. The most frequently traded vessels were those in the 1,000–1,499 TEU size class (37 sales), followed by vessels with a capacity of 1,500–1,999 TEU (21) and tonnage under 1,000 TEU (21). In the over 3,000 TEU segment, ‘classic Panamax vessels’ with a capacity of 4,000–5,299 TEU dominated (16 sales), followed by vessels of 5,300 TEU and above (14).
It is difficult to predict what will happen next: “Although the buying and selling market has so far weathered the endless list of macroeconomic, political and geopolitical risks and disruptions of recent months largely unscathed, thanks to supportive freight and charter markets, the long-term outlook remains highly uncertain,” according to the Alphaliner report.
In 2027 and 2028, a total of 1,000 new container ships of all sizes, with a combined capacity of 8.5 million TEU, will enter the market. By historical standards, this is more than four times the amount of newbuilding capacity that the fleet would normally receive over such a period. “Unless demand for transport capacity continues to grow strongly, the scrapping of ships increases massively and ‘slow steaming’ (sailing at reduced speed) is expanded, there is a real risk of significant overcapacity,” the analysts believe.
Furthermore, a large-scale return by shipping companies to the Suez Canal – and the resulting release of substantial fleet capacity due to shorter routes – could, depending on the timing and pace of these developments, tip the balance and put both the freightand charter markets. This would dampen demand for second-hand tonnage and reduce asset values – particularly for larger vessels – meaning that the buying and selling market would likely lose much of its current appeal.
