Japanese shipyards led the way as dry cargo newbuilding orders picked up across the first three quarters of 2018, new data shows.
Japan has secured 79 of the 154 new bulkers contacted between 1 January and the end of September this year, the majority of which were kamsarmaxes and ultramaxes, according to figures from Banchero Costa.
This is well ahead of the 39 bulkers Japanese shipbuilders secured last year and marks the first time since 2015 Japan has been ahead of China in the global rankings, the brokerage’s latest Dry Bulk Outlook said.
Overall the 16.6 million dwt of new bulkers ordered in the opening nine months of 2018 is ahead of the 13.4 million dwt inked into the orderbook in the same stretch of 2017, Bancosta says.
For 2017 as a whole, 26.7 million dwt of dry cargo tonnage was contracted, of which 102 ships were booked in China, a tally which included 44 capesizes, the report says.
Bancosta places the bulker orderbook at 8.7% of the trading fleet in terms of vessel numbers and 11.4% in capacity terms.
