@ Patagualino,,,,One does not need a crystal ball, all what it needs common sense. Just around the time the big E,s rolled out, also the new Panama expansion started from talks to doing. Still companies started to build like nuts "new" old-pana-max tonnage. Then the steps from 6 to 8 -10 and 14 and 18000 TEUS was almost overnight. One had a hard time to keep up with the numbers. Ever since the big movers building more bigger,,usually in the 500-1000 TEU steps bigger than the competition just ordered. That means also when a 18000 TEU is ready,,a few month later the 18500 was there and made the transportation cost cheaper than the competitions last new one. A never ending rolling ball !!! The new Panama came and all just build Pana-maxer were outdated if not obsolete. But together with the new mega-boxers (don,t forget, not too long ago a 8000 TEU was a huge ship!!!) and the existing old-Pana-maxer already to much tonnage was even more increased and both together hit the wall. What will stop the craziness,, I predict only MONEY after the first 20000 TEU breaks apart at sea ,sinks and creates havoc on the world markets, (Just in time delivery comes to mind) specially in the insurance industry. If a vessel drops out of service like the Merete Maersk now for a while,, the container can be discharged and shipped otherwise or left on and when the situation is clear they are delivered. When one of them sinks and 1000th of container never will arrive, then we talk MONEY gone/lost and then the bookkeepers have the say !!!
I hope always that commons sense is still around, but I think that virtue is long time lost in the maritime industry.
As for this one on the beach,,,well keep running the ships cost more money then beach them, at least the banks getting some money back and the rest is written off on taxpayers account and companies have one bad spot less on the books. If they survive? most probably just depends on the banks behind them I would say.

Container ships are more or less treated as "disposables " nowadays

Well, whatever the outcome for this vessel....it would appear that the Crystal Ball of Capt Ted is in full working order.....Over-tonnage has been on the cards for containerships for years.....as he has said, often.
But of course, the "experts" denied it all....
Next to fall? The Plastic Palaces? Over capacity in a reducing market?

Rickmers is now confirming the deal, That is the way forward at approx usd 4,200 daily T/C rate with very little to no hope for recovery.

Roland

Now Rickmers (their Singapore trust part) is denying it has been sold for scrap.
But probably it has been/will be as Rickmers (Rickmers Maritime Trust from Singapore, and not the mother from Germany) itself is in big trouble and on the brink of bankruptcy.
Cheers,
Roy

I would say that this is just a "by the book" solution to minimize expenses, but it seems really extreme.

"The way things are going now, container vessels will soon have their maiden voyages straight to Alang/Chittagong/Gadani..."

That´s exactly what I thought, when reading about scrapping this rather new vessel. ;-)

I wonder, whether Rickmers had to act like this - maybe they are also in trouble?