China Association of National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) held a conference yesterday to discuss the current situation of the domestic shipbuilding industry.
China completed shipbuilding volumes of 41.84dwt in 2015, up 7.1% year-on-year, however new order volume sharply declined by 47.9% to 31.26m dwt.
“The demand structure in the shipping market has changed significantly, the shipbuilding market in China is threatened by the declining demand for bulkers,” Guo Dacheng, president of CANSI said.
However, the percentage for high-end ship types including VLCC, mega containerships and VLGC in the overall shipbuilding market is improving, he added.
Jin Peng, secretary general of CANSI said the current usage rate of the domestic shipbuilding capacity is at less than 70%.
The association said financing is critical for shipyards in the current situation and it called for banks and financing institutions to offer more support to the industry.
CANSI estimates that the shipbuilding market is facing a tougher outlook in 2016 and new order volumes and ship prices will further decline.
