There are now more than 1 million TEUs of capacity on ultra-large ships on the waters or on order after Evergreen Marine announced late last month it had finalized plans to charter 11 new vessels with capacity for 18,000 TEUs each. But the window for carriers to jump on the big-ship bandwagon is closing, warns Drewry Marine Research.

Evergreen, by its own admission, was reluctant to make the leap and, by Drewry’s account, arrived later in the game than its closest competitors. Now, Drewry says, Evergreen may be one of the last carriers to join the big ship club before it no longer makes economic sense for individual lines to make such decisions on their own.

“There is not enough cargo for everyone to have ULCVs”, the maritime research and advisory group said in a report this week.

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