Container ship demolition dropped to a 17-year nadir last year, but the pace of scrapping is now set to pick up.

Consultancy Alphaliner reported only six fully-cellular units of 10,904 teu sold to recyclers in 2022, the weakest level since 2005.

“The record years of 2016 and 2017 which saw respectively 655,000 and 417,000 teu of tonnage torched have meanwhile become a distant memory,” the company said.