After placing 15 vessels in cold lay-up last spring, we began the process of reactivating nine of them at the beginning of this year. To keep pace with changing market conditions, we are now returning another three vessels to the sea to replace short-term time charter capacity.

In response to growing demand together with rising rates and lack of capacity in the time charter market, we are bringing another three vessels out of cold lay-up to re-join our almost 130-strong fleet

Joining the nine vessels already in the process of being reactivated, these three vessels are expected to be back in service in June and July.

“As part of our operations, we have the ability to adjust the fleet to our needs and changing market conditions,” says Craig Jasienski, CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen.

With some industries showing signs of recovery, there is potential for the remaining four vessels in lay-up to be reactivated later in the year, returning our fleet back to full strength.

“While it remains challenging to predict the potential market impact from virus intensity in parts of the world, the overall industry supply-demand balance is expected to improve in the mid-term due to overall global fleet reduction, low order book and a rebound in volumes during 2021,” adds Jasienski.