Twenty-one new ships were ordered on a global level during the month of April, according to a monthly market report released by Vessels Value.
When compared to April 2016, newbuilding orders have decreased by 27.6 percent.
Out of 21 orders placed in April 2017, five were for bulkers and sixteen for tankers.
Bulker orders have dropped by 61.5 percent from 13 orders placed in April last year.
“Bulker NB orders for April 2017 has been lower than April 2016, however, since the beginning of 2017, overall a higher number of orders have been placed compared to 2016,” VesselsValue said in the report.
However, tanker orders for April 2017 have risen by 23 percent.
South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has taken eight newbuild VLCC orders four of which have been confirmed by BW Group and the other four units reportedly ordered by Capital Maritime and Trading.
During the month, no newbuilding orders were received for container vessels, gas carriers or offshore support vessels (OSVs).
Furthermore, total demolition sales for all ship types were down by 44 percent during April, compared to the same month in 2016.
The biggest difference in demolition sales was in the bulker segment where a 72% difference could be noticed.
Tanker, container and gas demolition sales were higher in April 2017 compared to April 2016.
OSV sales were flat when compared to the fourth month of 2016.