Newbuilding Orderbook Takes a Nosedive in Q1

The first quarter of 2016 was hit by a major decline in ordering newbuilds with only 77 new ships ordered by the end of March 2016, Clarksons data shows.

This is a substantial drop when compared to the corresponding period in 2015 when a total of 375 ships were ordered.

January was definitely the slowest month during the quarter with orders for only 15 ships placed against 179 in the corresponding month in 2015, according to Clarksons.

The figures for February showed a slight increase with 17 orders followed by 45 orders in March, mostly driven by Valemax ordering spree in China. On the other hand, South Korean shipbuilders managed to secure merely nine orders during the first quarter of the year.

Bulkers have especially experienced a drop in demand as just two non VLOC were ordered during the quarter as opposed to 78 in the first quarter in 2015, based on VesselsValue data.

However, the ordering slump seems to be subsiding as 23 orders have already been booked for April, bringing the overall orderbook for this year at 100 new ships.

World Maritime News Staff