The charter market for smaller boxships below 4,000teu is almost back in balance after seven years of distress, according to Hamburg's Ernst Russ Shipbroker.

Surplus capacity in the 1,000-3,000teu size classes that dominate global chartering activity had basically disappeared, the broker said in its monthly maritime overview report.

Although around the globe, 34 ships in this segment were officially counted as idle, these vessels were in fact no longer competing for employment, because they were either fixed forward for delivery over the coming weeks, or they were "moth-balled" or in cold lay-up, Ernst Russ said.

The broker forecast the rally in market rates for 2,500teu vessels - already up from around US$7,000 to almost US$11,000 since the start of the year - to continue, with owners soon aiming for levels around US$14,000 per day.

That would be just shy of the previous peak for these ships in 2011. Demand for Sub-Panamax tonnage by liner operators gained momentum following the restructuring of intra-Asia services, the report said.

The fall in bunker prices also seems to have had a positive effect on tonnage demand and charter rates, against all expectations. Instead of speeding up vessel round-trip times and reducing the number of ships deployed on the services, carriers have taken the drop in fuel costs as an opportunity to launch new services with extra charter tonnage.