Gathering of freighters

Singapore has become the location of choice for one of the largest fleets of ships ever assembled. But not out of choice - they are stuck there because the shipping business is just so slow. The coast of Singapore is considered the preferred place to sit it out because the area has few storms, excellent ship repair teams, and proximity to Asian ports that might eventually have cargo to ship. In previous downturns, vessels anchored in the Norwegian fjords and other cold-weather locations, but environmental regulations in practically every cold-weather country are forcing ships into warmer locales. From the NYT:

The gathering of so many freighters "is extraordinary," said Christopher Palsson, a senior consultant at Lloyd's Register-Fairplay Research, a London-based ship tracking service, "we have probably not witnessed anything like this since the early 1980s," during the last big bust in the global shipping industry, The world's fleet has nearly doubled since the early 1980s, so the tonnage of vessels in and around Singapore's waters this spring may be the highest ever, he said, cautioning that detailed worldwide ship tracking data has only been available for the last five years.

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Hundreds of cargo ships -- 100,000 to 300,000 tons each, with the larger ones weighing more than the entire 130-ship Spanish Armada -- bob so empty that they seem to perch on top of the water rather than in it, their red rudders and bulbous noses, submerged when the vessels are loaded, sticking a dozen feet out of the water. So many ships have congregated here that shipping lines are becoming concerned about near misses and collisions in the Strait of Malacca, one of the world's most congested waterways.

By the way, orders for the holiday season are being placed right about now - and so far they're weak, according to Chris Woodward, VP at Ryder System, a big logistics company.