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Industry fears freight spikes and instability as national carrier weighs global deployment.

Coastal Trade Raises Alarm Over SCI’s Plan to Charter Out Key Container Ship.                                                                                                                                                                                                                

SCI may also think of hiring another small ship to add to the one it is already operating on the coast, he felt. Industry sources reckon that low-capacity utilisation and poor rates in the coastal segment could be pushing SCI to charter out the 4,500TEU capacity ships. Container ships should go full and fetch good rates. In coastal trade, rates are low. Besides, the ships may not be going full, and optimisation may not be happening. If SCI has a 2,000 TEU capacity ship, it can be run at full load. So, why should SCI run a 4,500 TEU ship half-filled? Why not charter it out and get a good rate per day, make a profit and with that hire smaller ships to run coastal services," a second industry source asked.