Third of world's fleet will be scrapped in two years: Khalid Hashim

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Bangkok:  Precious Shipping, Thailand's largest shipping company by market value, expects a third of the global merchant fleet to be scrapped within two years as trade collapses amid a global recession and tighter credit, Bloomberg reported.
"The banking system is destroyed," ceo Khalid Hashim said at a shipping conference in Singapore yesterday. "China's stimulus plan will help revive trade,  but it will not be able to immediately."
The number of vessels scrapped this year may triple on a trade slump caused by China cutting imports of iron ore and U.S. and European consumers paring spending on Asian-made goods. At the same time, new ships are entering service as shipyards complete orders placed two or three years ago, when trade was booming.  [26/02/09]