New ship orders shrinking for last 5 months

It is reported that the world new ship contracts kept low at 693,700 DWT in March the fifth month with turnover down 1 million DWT. CANSI newly published survey showed China's ship industry continued the downturn from end 2008 to January and February grabbing very few new orders. It's expected the new orders will keep rare in H1 then rally in H2.
Shipbuilders like Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co Ltd and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co Ltd revealed that they started to feel hard to receive new orders, though they had relatively plentiful holdings which could spread to 2011 and 2012. Meanwhile, order cancellation continued. During January to February there was an accumulative cancellation of 13 ships equal to 664,000 DWT.
Mr Tan naifeng vice director of information department under CANSI, introduced China should deliver ships of 56,580,000 DWT in 2009 in line with the signed contracts. But, Mr Tan gave a conservative estimate that the country will complete about 40,000,000 DWT this year under the financial crisis, which means the rate of handing-over will just post at 70%.
Beside the cancellation, many ship owners especially those world class ones, asked to delay delivery; some called for lower price; some mentioned to change the style of vessel; some claimed higher quality. The legal disputes tensed up.
Insiders suggest domestic shipyards to ensure the delivery first against the above situation. Mr Wu Minghua director of Shanghai branch of China Maritime, noted shipbuilders can't pin their hopes to demands rebound, since overcapacity in global shipping market stays there with growth hovering at 6.6%.
China State Shipbuilding Corp, the industrial head in China, pointed out in its annual report that it will throw the highlight to existing orders fulfilling from new orders-seeking in 2009. Under the situation, the whole ship industry is looking forward to the release of the "Working Instruction of Revitalization Plan in Ship Industry"
At the moment, the release of the working Instruction will give a shot in the arm of the industry. All shipbuilders are facing liquidity trap and risks of cancellation at present, so the industry is unavoidable to see shuffle the cards and integrations again.