Norwegian shipowners are leading the newbuilding market with $6.6bn invested in new vessels during the first six months of this year.
That is 29.5% ahead of 2011 on an annualised basis, in sharp contrast to global investment in new tonnage, which has slumped by 40.8%.
The latest statistics from Clarkson Research Services (CRS) shows that 75% of Norwegian investment this year has been in offshore units.
It was the same last month, when its owners were again the biggest spenders, at $1.2bn, but it was all focussed on offshore.
In June, owners worldwide ploughed an estimated $7.2bn into newbuilding contracts, lifting the year-to-date total to around $30.3bn.
However, says CRS in its latest World Shipyard Monitor, this is down almost 41% on an annualised basis, as compared to 2011.