Poll: Slow Steaming Becoming Universal

100 percent said new ships will be built for slow speeds

Ship owners nearly unanimously predict that speeds of under 20 knots will be the new standard service speed for cargo lines, according to the "Seventh Annual Maritime Trend Barometer" released by UniCredit.

"The 'high-speed routes' with speeds of up to 25 knots that were common only a few years ago on the Asia-Europe and USA-Europe routes no longer exist," the report says.

Of the survey respondents, who represent the owners of more than a third of the world's container fleet, 92 percent said that slow steaming, with speeds under 20 knots, will establish itself as the new service speed, and 100 percent said all new ships will be designed for slow speeds.

Meanwhile, ship owners noted the growth in large container ships, which the report said is triggering a "cascading down effect" in which the largest ships take over the major Asia-Europe route, forcing smaller ships to lower-volume routes.

The survey found the most important reasons for the "cascading down" were economies of scale, cited by 92 percent of respondents, and bunker prices, which was named by 75 percent.

The ship owners said the changing market will lead to some form of market consolidation, according to most respondents, with 83 percent saying a major effect will be increased slot sharing, in which shipping lines share the use of a ship, and 84 percent saying there will be intensified cooperation such as alliances.

Thirty-three percent predicted closures of services, and 42 percent said companies will withdraw from the market.

In recent months many shipping companies, including A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, Cargill Inc., and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha have said slow steaming has helped cushion them from the effects of a difficult shipping market.