Empty ships signal global economy still shrinking.

The largest ever gathering of maritime ships - bigger than the US and British navies combined - anchor empty and without crew off the coast of Singapore.

A couple of years ago those ships would have been steaming back and forth, going at full speed. But now you've got something like 12 per cent of the world's container ships doing nothing.

Some experts believe the ratio of container ships sitting idle could rise to 25 per cent within two years in an extraordinary downturn that shipping giant Maersk has called a 'crisis of historic dimensions'. Last month the company reported its first half-year loss in its 105-year history.

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