Recession Anchors Trade

Daily News Article   —   Posted on October 16, 2009

NOTE: This article was published at NYPost.com on September 16th.

(by Paul Tharp, NYPost.com) – In a faraway corner of the Pacific is anchored the world’s ghost fleet of cargo ships as far as the eye can see, with no cargo, no crews — and no place to go.

The out-of-work fleet — larger than the combined navies of the US and Britain — stretches for 20 miles off the coast of Malaysia as an eerie symbol of the recession’s wipeout of world commerce.

Economists say that normally these 500-plus container vessels, oil tankers and merchant ships would be steaming between the ports of Asia and the US laden with cameras, jeans and all sorts of goods for retail shelves this Christmas. Instead, the mammoth ships have been moored for months, with only a guard or two on decks to watch for marauding pirates.

Owners from all over the industrialized world tie up their empty vessels along the stretch of international waters 50 miles from Singapore’s harbor because it’s cheap and is off the beaten path for pirates, at least for now. Local fisherman say they’re afraid to venture toward the lifeless armada because they see no movement aboard and believe evil spirits have turned the vessels into ghost ships.

Maritime brokers say the world’s top shipping companies are struggling to stay afloat, with cargo loads down by half this year, according to the Baltic Dry Index, which tracks most maritime tonnage. By 2012, one in four commercial ships will be idle, analysts predict.

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