Japanese export ship orders drop 74% in August

Japanese export ship orders dropped by 74.4% year-on-year to 346,300 tons in August 2011, according to a Japan Ship Exporters’ Association report.

In August, Japanese shipbuilders received orders for nine ships, all of which are bulk carriers comprising 158,613 compensated gross tons (GT).

The orders include five handymax bulk carriers, three panamax bulk carriers and one capsize bulker.

According to the report, Japanese export ship orders in the first eight months of 2011 fell to 5.8m GT, a drop of by 23% compared to a year earlier.

Between January and August 2011, Japanese shipbuilders received orders for 142 export ships – 131 bulk carriers, five tankers, two marine resource research vessels and four general cargo vessels.