Shipbuilding under pressure

According to Bao Zhangjing, chief researcher from China Ship Marketing Research Centre, “Against the background of global economy recession, cancellation of new ships has already aroused serious attention from shipbuilding industry all over the world.” Clarkson Research Studies show that global orders for 94 new ships were cancelled during January to August. These orders were mainly held by Asian shipbuilders with 43 newbuildings cancelled at South Korean shipbuilders such as STX, HMD and Daewoo Shipbuilding. Chinese shipbuilders had 21 orders cancelled.

At the same time, global new orders in September decreased by 66.1% compared to last year. From January to September, new orders in the world slid by 27.3% year on year with China’s new orders dropping by 34.2%. Although costs for new ships still hover at a high level, prices for oil tanker and bulk cargo ship have already declined slightly.