Tramp owners in the container sector need to act now to counteract the growing strength of liner operators, says a leading ship financier.

Christian P Nieswandt, global head of shipping at Germany’s HSH Nordbank, believes that tramp owners should “actively” and “voluntarily” co-operate in the commercial chartering of units.

He warns that such consolidation could end up being “involuntary” if owners don’t act and the containership market remains low, resulting in owners losing their ships under management through insolvency or age.

“The