Tonnage-hungry liner operators have bagged a series of vessels from the German market in sale-and-purchase deals focusing on smaller ships.

The move continues a growing exodus of tonnage from German shipowners that has raised questions over the country’s future in container shipping.

The latest batch of vessels to be sold to non-German buyers come from smaller tonnage providers including Okee Maritime, HS Schiffahrts and Jebsen Shipping Partners.