The global fleet of large bulk carriers surpassed 2,000 operating units for the first time in history at the beginning of July, reaching 2,002 units with a total of 397 million deadweight tons (Mt DWT). According to data from the British broker Arrow, this fleet size in the last 14 years has doubled.
The broker includes all bulk carriers ranging from 130,000 DWT to 400,000 DWT, divided into 265 Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC), 496 Newcastlemax, 1,098 Capesize, and 143 Minicapes. The average age of the fleet in this sector is 11.0 years, significantly older than the 7.1 years recorded in 2013, though not reaching its historical peak of 11.9 years at the end of 2008.
In its report, Arrow also highlights the preference of shipowners since 2014 for Newcastlemax vessels (50 meters maximum beam and between 180,000 and 220,000 DWT) for their new build orders. The analyst recorded 420 orders for this type of vessel during that period, compared to 290 for Capesize vessels. As a result, the Capesize fleet has barely grown since 2014, while the Newcastlemax fleet has more than doubled from the 204 units recorded in 2014.