Japanese shipping orders up but lacks dockyard capacity

LACK: New ship construction orders in Japanese yards rose more than 3 per cent in June versus the previous month, but a lack of dockyard capacity continues to cap orders.

In June, a total of 1.257 million gross tonnes or 33 new vessels were put on order with Japanese shipbuilders, up 46,082 gross tonnes from the previous month, data from the Japan Ship Centre showed.

June’s orders were 18.3 per cent lower when compared to the same period in 2006.

Contracts for the combined orders were about US$1.17 billion, data from the Japan Ship Centre said. A total of 12 vessels were paid for in US dollar cash payments, while the remaining 21 were paid for in Japanese yen.

Analysts said that the lacklustre Japanese order book continues to reflect capacity constraints at Japanese yards.