Wallenius Wilhelmsen will reactivate three more of its vessels that are currently in cold layup in June and July to replace capacity that is currently sourced through short-term charters.
The carrier placed 15 of its vessels into cold layup last spring; in January 2021, it began the process of reactivating nine of those ships, as HLPFI reported here.
Capacity scarcity and rising rates in the time charter market continue to make reactivation of vessels in layup a more cost-competitive option, said Wallenius Wilhelmsen. Reactivation of the remaining four vessels in layup will be considered based on market developments in the first half of this year.
“As part of our operations we have the ability to adjust the fleet to our needs and changing market conditions. While it remains challenging to predict the potential market impact from virus intensity in parts of the world, the overall industry supply-demand balance is expected to improve in the mid-term due to overall global fleet reduction, low order book and a rebound in volumes during 2021,” said Craig Jasienski, ceo of Wallenius Wilhelmsen.
