Chinese shipyards have secured new ship orders totaling 14.6m dwt during the first eight months this year.
The figure is down by 48% against the same period of last year, data from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry shows.
Of the newbuilding orders, 11m dwt was for export deals, which also fell 48% year-on-year.
As new orders continue to decrease, China's entire newbuilding orderbook also shrank to 123.8m as of August end, down by 30% compared to a year ago.