Then transport 5,000 tons from Newark to London in ten days with <10,000 USD of bunker fuel.
Bunker fuel is very very cheap. I don't see how you can compete on either the fixed or variable costs with conventional shipping in the current regulatory regime.
An added issue with a flotilla approach is the decreased ability to handle sea state, which impacts the costs for insurance/LOC for shippers, as well as the useful coverage with respect to routes and seasonality.
Built 1991, it's nearing the end of its useful lifespan in salt water conditions. Maintenance and repairs will get very costly, very soon. There's a reason you don't see 35+ year old cargo ships operating in widespread commercial service... Some time in the next 5-7 years that ship is almost certainly going to end up operating in an increasingly decrepit condition in the coastal trade in a location with lax regulations, or cut up for scrap on a beach in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh.
I can buy this ship for ~4M USD https://www.oceanmarine.com/detail.cfm?5280%2DDWT%2DRORO%2CG...
Then transport 5,000 tons from Newark to London in ten days with <10,000 USD of bunker fuel.
Bunker fuel is very very cheap. I don't see how you can compete on either the fixed or variable costs with conventional shipping in the current regulatory regime.
An added issue with a flotilla approach is the decreased ability to handle sea state, which impacts the costs for insurance/LOC for shippers, as well as the useful coverage with respect to routes and seasonality.