2016:

Asian Shipyards' Orders Plunged

Just 149 merchant ship orders (comprising bulk carriers, oil and products tankers and container ships) were placed in 2016, as shipbuilders in the powerhouse nations of China and Japan saw a sharp drop in contracting, according to IHS Maritime and Trade newbuilding data.

News ID: 71544

Date: 14 January 2017 - 12:03

The total for the past 12 months compares with 1,094 orders recorded in 2015, and a peak of 1,568 orders in 2013, MANA correspondent reported.

China remained the top destination for vessel newbuilding orders in 2016, accounting for 43% of new orders seen. South Korea secured 27% of orders and Japanese yards secured 24%. Tankers took top spot at 40% of global orders with container ships coming in at 29%, bulkers 24%, and gas carriers 6%.

Chinese shipyards won 68 ship orders in 2016, down 82% year on year when they secured 379 and a 91% drop from the 788 vessel orders in 2013.

Only 21 individual Chinese shipyards recorded orders in 2016, compared with 47 in 2015 and 67 in 2013. Some 23 container ship were ordered in 2016, a decrease from the 132 box ships ordered in 2015. In 2016, bulker orders also pipped container ships at 25, although they were down from the 90 units ordered in 2015.

Japanese yards, which are renowned for constructing bulkers and stainless steel chemical tankers, have seen their dry bulk orders fall from a sustained level of around 260 new orders each year in 2013–15, to just 13 orders in 2016.

Across vessel types, only 11 individual Japanese shipyards recorded a total of 40 new orders in 2016, compared to 41 yards in 2015 with 483 orders.

Bulk carriers have formed the majority of Japanese new orders over the past few years, but the prolonged weak state of the dry bulk market has resulted in a low interest for newbuilding orders.