Rough seas ahead for shipyards

Chinese shipbuilders have taken a bigger hit than their foreign competitors from the global economic downturn, and the outlook is even gloomier for the next two years.

In the first 11 months of 2008, Chinese shipyards reported a 44-percent drop in new orders, compared to the world average of a 37-percent decline, according to Clarkson Research Studies. The global research company's report showed that during the 11-month period, Chinese shipyards received new building orders totaling 54.26 million tons deadweight, compared to South Korea's 65.97 million tons and Japan's 17.92 million tons.

South Korea, China and Japan are the world's top three shipbuilders, which together account for 84 percent of the world total. New shipbuilding orders received by South Korean and Japanese yards in the first 11 months of 2008 dropped by 29 percent and 18 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.