The Japan Ship Exporters Association (JSEA) has released the latest data on Japanese shipbuilders' orders for October 2024.
Japanese shipbuilders took delivery of a total of 16 ships of 697,400 GT last month, down 70.9% from the 16 ships of 971,040 GT in the same period in 2023.
The 16 new ship orders received by Japanese shipbuilders in October included three cargo ships (two general cargo ships and one car carrier) with a total capacity of 128,000 GT, 10 bulk carriers (three Handysize, four Large Handysize and three Capesize) with a total capacity of 506,300 GT and three chemical tankers with a total capacity of 53,100 GT.
Japanese shipbuilders’ monthly order intake had maintained a year-on-year growth trend since February 2024, until it fell for the first time in September.
Industry insiders noted that the main reason for the surge in orders over the past few months was the entry into force of the International Association of Classification Societies’ (IACS) new cybersecurity rules. Shipowners are concerned that the new rules will add to shipbuilding costs, so they are rushing to sign contracts before they come into effect, with June’s order book hitting an 8.5-year high.
In the first 10 months of this year, Japanese shipbuilders received orders for 226 ships with a total capacity of 10,010,710 GT, up 2.4% from a year earlier. The ordered ships included 24 cargo ships with a total capacity of 1,121,490 GT, 177 bulk carriers with a total capacity of 7,805,830 GT and 25 liquid bulk carriers with a total capacity of 1,083,390 GT.
As of the end of October, Japanese shipbuilders had a total of 637 orders worth 30.08 million GT.