Editing Container ship (section)

===Scrapping===
Most ships are removed from the fleet through a process known as [[ship breaking|scrapping]].<ref name="ilo-breaking">{{cite web |url=http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/papers/shpbreak/index.htm |title=Is there a decent way to break up ships? |access-date=2007-05-29 |last=Bailey |first=Paul J. |year=2000 |work=Sectoral Activities Programme |publisher=International Labour Organization }}</ref>  Scrapping is rare for ships under 18 years old and common for those over 40 years in age.<ref name="unctad35">UNCTAD, 2010, p. 35.</ref>  Ship-owners and buyers negotiate scrap prices based on factors such as the ship's empty weight (called light ton displacement or LTD) and prices in the scrap metal market.<ref name="mtcp">{{cite book | author = Maritime Transport Coordination Platform | title = Tonnage Measurement Study | chapter-url = http://ec.europa.eu/transport/maritime/studies/doc/2006_11_tonnage_measurement_study.pdf | access-date = 2007-05-29 | series = MTCP Work Package 2.1, Quality and Efficiency | date = November 2006 | location = Bremen/Brussels | pages = 3.3 | chapter = 3: The London Tonnage Convention | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070330134300/http://ec.europa.eu/transport/maritime/studies/doc/2006_11_tonnage_measurement_study.pdf | archive-date = 2007-03-30 }}</ref>  Scrapping rates are volatile, the price per light ton displacement has swung from a high of $650 per LTD in mid-2008 to $200 per LTD in early 2009, before building to $400 per LTD in March 2010.<ref name="unctad51">UNCTAD 2010, p. 51.</ref>  {{As of|2009}}, over 96% of the world's scrapping activity takes place in China, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.<ref name="unctad53">UNCTAD 2010, p. 53.</ref>

The global economic downturn of 2008–2009 resulted in more ships than usual being sold for scrap.<ref name="unctad51"/>  In 2009, 364,300 TEU worth of container ship capacity was scrapped, up from 99,900 TEU in 2008.<ref name="unctad51"/>  Container ships accounted for 22.6% of the total gross tonnage of ships scrapped that year.<ref name="unctad52">UNCTAD 2010, p. 52.</ref>  Despite the surge, the capacity removed from the fleet only accounted for 3% of the world's container ship capacity.<ref name="unctad51"/>  The average age of container ships scrapped in 2009 was 27.0 years.<ref name="unctad52"/>