Prolonged global shipping market slump and frozen ship financing are leading to more order cancellations between shipowners and shipyards.
Since global financial crisis in 2008, newbuilding order cancellations and delivery delays soared.
Industry sources estimate more than 1,000 newbuildings have seen contracts ditched including order debacles caused by shipowner or shipyard's bankruptcy.
But recently so-called 'sound' contracts are facing increasing cancellation risk.
IHS statistics show 59 newbuildings of 1.77m GT have been cancelled during January-March 2012.
Especially Chinese yards lost 41 newbuilding contracts totalling 2.58m DWT in the first six months, according to the China Association of National Shipbuilding Industry.
The figure is already more than last year's total cancellations in China.
Recent rise in order cancellations seems to be caused by shipping and shipbuilding companies' collapsing in the wake of prolonged recession.