Newbuilding orders decline to 245 units in first half: VesselsValue

Global newbuilding orders have dwindled in the first half of this year to 245 units, dragged down by reduced interest for containers and zero order for offshore vessels, but new orders for bulkers and tankers have risen, according to data from VesselsValue.

A total of 245 new orders were placed from January to June 2017, down slightly from 254 orders in the same period of 2016 and significantly down from 594 recorded in the first half of 2015.

Shipowners have displayed a larger appetite for bulkers and tankers over the first six months this year, with new orders at 70 and 145 units respectively, compared to 43 and 118 in the first half of last year.

Back in the first six months of 2015, new order interests were comparatively high at 229 for bulkers and 181 for tankers, data from VesselsValue showed.

For containerships, only 10 new orders were placed in the first half this year, compared to 56 and 90 in the first half of 2016 and 2015, respectively.

The severe recession of the offshore sector has led to zero order for OSVs in the first half this year, compared to 11 in the previous corresponding period and 50 in the first half of 2015.

The LNG carrier segment recorded four orders in the first half, compared to seven and 26 in the first half of 2016 and 2015, respectively.

New orders for LPG carriers have not seen a huge disparity in numbers with 16 ordered in the first half this year, 19 in the year-ago period and 18 in the first half of 2015.

Meanwhile, Chinese shipbuilders, which accounted for 42.4% of the world’s newbuilding orders, have received new orders of 11.51m dwt in tonnage terms over the first half, representing a plunge of 29% year-on-year.