China’s new ship orders continue to surge in January-May

New ship orders received by China, the world’s largest shipbuilder, continued to surge during the first five months of 2014, reflecting a recovery in the global economy.

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The country secured 34.73 million deadweight tonnes (dwt) of new ship orders in January-May, more than double the 13.75 million dwt posted in the same period a year earlier, according to data released by the China Assn of the National Shipbuilding Industry (Cansi) on Thursday June 19.

Completed ships delivered during the period fell 24.3% year-on-year to 13.02 million dwt.

The order backlog in Chinese shipyards stood at 150.47 million dwt by the end of May, up 41.4% on the year, and up 14.9% from the end of 2013.

New ship orders for exports reached 32.89 million dwt during the period, compared with 12.32 million dwt a year earlier. Completed ships for exports fell 17.7% year-on-year to 11.645 million dwt.