The smaller the ship, the older it tends to be appears to be the way the global merchant fleet is progressing in the 2020s. The latest fleet and orderbook snapshot published by broker Arrow shows a remarkable swathe of the world’s smaller bulk carriers, tankers and containerships are not just vintage, but past retirement age with the world’s top shipyards – sitting on huge orderbooks – shunning orders for smaller vessel types. In dry bulk, 27.1% of the handymax fleet is now over 25 years of age, with another 39.7% of these workhorses over the age of 20. In the smaller handy sector – bulk carriers up to 24,999 dwt – 27.8% of the fleet is above 20, and a further 20.9% are above 25. By way of comparison, just 0.5% of capesizes are above 25, with 10.6% of the cape fleet being above the age of 20. In tankers, more than one in two panamaxes are above 20 (51.7%) and a further 6.9% of the panamax tanker fleet is above 25. Smaller handy tankers are also ageing fast – 38.5% of them are above 20, and another 10.5% are above 25. By comparison, just 3.8% of the VLCC fleet is still trading over the age of 25, with another 18.2% hitting the ripe old age of 20. In gas carriers, like other sectors, it is all the small LPG carriers that stand out for their age, with 32% of these sub-25,000 cu m vessels aged 20 years old, and another 23.7% aged over 25. Finally, turning to the container sector, once again it is the smallest bracket – feeders of up to 3,499 teu – that are the oldest, with 30.4% of them aged 20, and another 16% aged 25. Commenting on the clear delineation in size and age in the global merchant fleet, Burak Cetinok, head of research at Arrow, told Splash Extra that smaller vessels across major sectors have long been overlooked, partly due to the technological shift towards larger ships, and partly because of fast-growing long-haul trades requiring larger vessels. Regional trades, where these smaller ships typically operate, expanded far more modestly by comparison. “As a result, investment in new tonnage has been limited; these ships simply weren’t attractive enough,” Cetinok said, predicting their average age will continue to climb. “Because margins are thin, only a handful of shipyards are willing to build in these segments,” Cetinok explained, predicting that in the long run, that could create a supply squeeze, especially as demand for smaller vessels is likely to accelerate with a more fragmented global trade landscape and growing pressure to renew ageing fleets. “Shipyards certainly prefer to build larger and more sophisticated vessels as they get higher earning margins for the dock space they use than they would for smaller and/or cheaper vessels,” commented Ralph Leszczynski, head of research at Banchero Costa. Niels Rasmussen, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO, confirmed that a number of the smaller product tanker, container and LPG tanker segments are at, or close to, their highest percentage of ships of 20 or 25 years old or older. TagsSplash Extra August 2025