SIMIC

The containership orderbook is about to hit an all-time high, elbowing out most other ship types, bar LNG vessels.

Alphaliner's data of confirmed containership orders shows more than 6.22 million TEU worth of vessels are now on order. Once a number of reported orders are confirmed, the orderbook will topple the heights experienced in 2008 when the orderbook-to-fleet ratio hit 65 per cent.

Because the global box fleet has doubled in size since 2008, the orderbook-to-fleet ratio currently stands at 25 per cent. Including orders under negotiation, and pending confirmation it stands at 27 per cent.

According to Clarksons, only the LNG shipping sector now has a higher orderbook-to-fleet ratio, closing in on the 30 per cent mark.