Wallenius Wilhelmsen is to remove up to 15 vessels from its fleet via a combination of scrapping and lay-ups to prepare for what it describes as a “challenging time ahead”.

The Oslo-based car carrier owner said it would scrap four vessels and place a further 10 vessels in cold lay-up. The company currently owns a fleet of 51 ships.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen, which is jointly owned by Wilh Wilhelmsen of Norway and Sweden's Wallenius Lines, said the four vessels going for scrap are at least 24 years old and would likely lead to an impairment of $40m.