Japanese shipbuilders' export ship contracted in January 2012 totals 13 vessels of 650,000 gt, down by 57% on the same month 2011, the Japan Ship Exporter’s Association (JSEA) announced on 16 February.
About 90% of orders last month were contracted with short-term delivery due 2013 and large-size newbuildings were ordered as well, including capesize, VLOC, etc.
Newbuildings were mostly bulkers - one handysize, five handymaxes, three panamaxes, two capesizes and one VLOC - and one LPG carrier.
JPY-denominated contracts took 41%, JPY and foreign currency-denominated 29% and foreign currency-denominated 30%.
In case of delivery, 11% of overall contracts to be delivered in 2012, 89% in 2013.
Meanwhile, about 42 vessels of 1.83m gt got clearance in January, about the same as delivery, which decreased by 11% year-on-year. During January-March mostly see higher delivery with seasonal effect, however, Japanese yards seem to control operation.
Export-ship orderbook as of the end of January stands at 807 vessels of 36.43m gt (16.13m cgt), which would cover 2.2 years, considering overall delivery in 2011.