Last week’s newbuilding ordering activity appear to be cooling down more than ever as we head towards the end of the year, according to the latest weekly report from Clarkson.

“As we move further into December and the festive period, activity in the Newbuilding market continues to gradually wind down, as evidenced by the lower levels of new enquiry now being witnessed.” said Clarkson.

However, the last week has seen some new business being concluded, as certain buyers are trying to tie up their various negotiations before the end of the year.

Although the second half of the year has seen a slight decline in the number of orders being placed at the Korean yards, a continued demand across the Container, Offshore and LNG sectors seem to picture a bright future for these shipyards in 2012, especially the “Big Three”.  But with the turmoil in the European financial markets continuing, it may be little earlier to establish the forward picture for 2012 for the restricted financing access.

At the same time, Chinese shipyards have faced a far more challenging year in 2011, especially at the year beginning. Fortunately, their activity has picked up a little during the second half, at least amongst the major State and Private yards, with some ordering again beginning to take place in the Dry Bulk sector.

However, it is rumored there still remains a large amount of 2013 capacity available amongst the majority of the yards. It is of great wonders to see how they will fill this, especially given the challenges that potential owners will face. With the great support from Chinese government and the endeavors from the yards, the Chinese shipyards’ performance in 2012 is worth expectations.