According to data released by Japan Ship Exporters' Association (JSEA) on May 15, 35 vessels of a combined 1.26m gross tons were contracted with export, representing 2.4 times the record of April in 2012.    
The number is seen to have declined from 49 vessels of a combined 2.72m gross tons recorded in March, however, new orders have shown a recovery.
During the period from January to April, accumulated 99 vessels of 4.67m gross tons were newly contracted, sharply increasing by 74% from the same time period of last year.
Vessels contracted in April are one cargo ship, one car carrier, seven handysize bulkers, 14 handymax bulkers, six panamax bulkers, one capesize, one chip carrier, one aframax tanker, one LPG carrier, two offshore resource exploration vessels.  
A total of 12 vessels are said to have been ordered from foreign shipowners in April.
As for delivery term of vessels contracted in April, 25% will be delivered in fiscal year of 2013, 32% in 2014, 37% in 2015 and 7% in 2016. Only 5% contracts were signed in yen currency while 85% in dollar (the rest, 10%, in the mix of yen-dollar).  
Meanwhile, export declaration record, which means deliveries in April, was 18 vessels of 860,000 gross tons, a month-on-month decrease of 52%. The accumulated record from January to April was 115 vessels of 5.29m gross tons, a 17% decrease from the same time period of the previous year.    
As for orderbook at the end of April, Japanese yards stood on 562 vessels of 25.75m gross tons (11.52m cgt), continuing the increase for two months in a row.