MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co has begun the year by selling an older container ship for recycling.

Multiple cash buyers reported over the weekend that the Swiss liner giant had sold the 3,500-teu MSC Sophie (built 1993) to a hand-picked recycling facility in India for strict green recycling.

Although no pricing details were disclosed, cash buyers said in their latest market reports that price offerings out of the Indian subcontinent were too low to incentivise shipowners to scrap, given that freight rates across the sectors remained comparatively strong.