Newbuild vessel orders sink in 2017

The number of newbuild vessel orders placed during the first half of this year is less than half of the amount placed during the same period two years ago, according to recent data from ship valuation service VesselsValue.

   Orders for newbuild ocean vessels have slipped during the first half of 2017, despite orders for bulkers and tankers rising during the period, according to newly-released data from ship valuation service VesselsValue.
   The 245 vessel orders placed during the first half of this year is less than half of the amount placed during the same period two years ago (594), according to data, but down only slightly from the 254 orders placed during the first six months of 2016.
   Of the 245 orders placed so far this year, 145 have been for tankers, a sizable increase from the 118 orders placed in 2016, but still well below the 181 orders placed during the first half of 2015.
   A total of 70 bulker orders have been placed, up from last year’s 43, but still a significant drop from the 229 vessels ordered two years ago.
   There were zero orders from offshore vessels placed during the first half of this year, down from 11 in 2016 and 50 two years ago. The number of LPG vessels ordered however, has remained steady, growing from 18 two years ago to 19 in 2016, before dipping slightly to 16 so far this year.
   Orders of LNG vessels continued their decline, falling from 26 in the first half of the year two years ago to seven last year and four so far in 2017. Container vessel orders also continued a steep decline, according to data. There were 10 during the first six months of 2017, compared to 56 during the same period last year and 90 two years ago.
   The news of the declines comes on the heels of shipbroker Clarksons saying earlier this week that the number of shipyards across the globe building large commercial vessels has fallen by 62 percent in the past eight years.
   There were 358 such yards as of July 1, down from 934 in early 2009, according to Clarkson Research Services Ltd.