Container vessel idling at 1-yr high as Covid-19 pandemic sinks sailing

Cancellation of sailing schedules in the container segment has taken idling of shipping vessels across the globe to a one-year high in May.

The highest sailing cancellation since the Covid-19 outbreak was in February, registering a spike of 105 cancellations across Trans-Pacific, Asia-Europe, and the Mediterranean trades.

On the Asia-Europe route, cancellation of sailing schedules — also called blank sailing — peaked to 46. As a percentage of total container vessels, idling is the highest in May.

“Cancellations go up annually in February on account of the Chinese New Year. This time, however, the Covid-19 outbreak has aggravated the situation,”