Containerships owners have placed orders for a total of 1.6 million TEUs of new capacity since June 2010, surpassing deliveries recorded in the same period which hit 1.4 million TEUs, according to Alphaliner data.

"With all 2011 and most of 2012 delivery slots currently booked, attention now turns to 2013 slots. Scheduled deliveries for 2013 have surged from 380,000 TEUs a year ago to 1,590,000 TEUs today, and there is still available shipyard capacity for 2013 deliveries. If all current options, letters of intent (LoI) and intended orders were exercised, 2013 vessel deliveries could exceed two million TEUs," said Alphaliner.

This, it said, would mark the highest annual level of containership newbuilding on record.

The report added that total investments in new containerships since January 2010 had swelled to $ 18.8 billion.