Orders for bulk carrier newbuildings are at their highest levels since last October, with ultramax and kamsarmax units making up the lion’s share of contracts

Orders for 33 bulk carriers have been confirmed since the beginning of June, with supramax and kamsarmax units making up the majority of new contracts

In the past week, orders have been racked up for 16 bulk carriers, two LNG tankers and four pure car and truck carriers, on top of 30 containerships 

Mid-size containership newbuildings represent a relatively low risk investment for non-operating owners due to their trading flexibility

United Heavy Lift and ForestWave Navigation confirm multi-purpose vessel orders with the transport of wind -power turbine blades in mind

At least 48 liquefied natural gas carriers have been ordered so far this year, with another 18 thought to be under discussion      

New vessel contracts were confirmed in the past few days for six products tankers, 10 containerships and a quartet of pure car and truck carriers

New orders recently confirmed included 19 pure car and truck carriers and six LNG tankers. Although containership orders are still being concluded, they are at lower volumes than seen in previous weeks

New orders for eight gas tankers and the same number of vehicle carriers were confirmed recently at Chinese, Japanese and South Korean shipyards while two separate boxship orders were placed by MSC

Orders for new gas tankers are continuing to flow to South Korean shipyards, but China is bringing on more capacity to build high-value LNG carriers

New containerships have been ordered by both liner operators and non-operating owners, a Swedish owner adds another chemical tanker and South Korean shipyard DSME wins more LNG tankers

Evergreen Line has added a further three ships to its backlog of new ultra-large containerships, while German dry cargo operators are continuing to invest in new efficient bulk carriers.

With an ageing existing fleet, mid-size containerships are proving a popular choice with four separate newbuilding orders for this vessel type placed in recent days

Newbuilding contracts continue to be dominated by containerships and gas carriers, with major orders placed in the past week by MSC, Pacific International Lines and Dynagas with deliveries three years hence

With an already large orderbook in the dry cargo sector, contracts for new bulk carriers are relatively subdued. Nevertheless, owners are continuing to make investments in latest eco-design ships

With limited berth availability for newbuilding orders due to last year’s order boom there were only two major orders reported this week. Nevertheless, interest in new ships shows no sign of abating as the green shipbuilding revolution advances