June 2015 has been a very fruitful month for Japanese shipyards that received 98 export orders totaling in 4,671,040 G/T, against 91 export orders totaling 3,392,460 G/T in the same period in 2014, data from Japan Ship Exporters’ Association (JSEA) shows.
June figures provided considerable boost as numbers in April and May 2015 did not look so favorable with only 39 orders received in total.
Bulk carriers were in demand the most according to JSEA, with 56 bulkers ordered in June those being 7 handysizes, 24 handymaxes, 9 panamaxes, 7 post-panamaxes, 7 capesizes and 2 ore carriers.
Tankers were second most ordered at the yards with 36 ordered in June, including 20 product tankers, 12 aframaxes, one LPG and one LNG carrier, followed by 6 general cargo ships with two container ships and four pure car carriers (PCCs).
The shopping spree comes ahead of the new international maritime standards set to enter into force in 2016 regarding construction of bulkers and tankers which will herald changes in construction of the ships’ cargo holds targeting their strengthening.
The overall orderbook of JSEA members for 2015 fiscal year stands at 137 orders, which equals to 7,510,238 G/T.
Figures on owners placing orders with Japanese yards from April to June 2015 indicates that 68.7 % of orders are placed by Japanese related owners, 13,3 % by European and American shipping companies, followed by Greek shipowners with 5.1 % and Hong Kong shipowners with 1.4 %.
Japanese shipbuilders ranked second in the global overview of shipbuilding orders for the first six months of 2015, overtaking Chinese builders. The first place was taken by South Korean builders despite the industry slump with new orders totaling 5.92 CGTs.
The first-half order booking volume for Japanese shipbuilders reached 2.68 million CGTs, marking a fall from 6.04 million CGTs in the first half of 2014, Clarksons data shows.
World Maritime News Staff