New orders decreased by 107 ships month-on-month, Chinese shipbuilders received the most orders, South Korea ranked second
According to the latest data from Clarksons (as of June 9, 2026), global new orders in May 2026 totaled 194 ships, amounting to 5,298,938 CGT. Compared with 301 new orders globally in April 2026, totaling 8,539,897 CGT, the number decreased by 107 ships month-on-month, and compensated gross tonnage fell by 37.95% month-on-month. Compared with 142 new orders globally in May 2025, totaling 2,421,035 CGT, the number increased by 52 ships year-on-year, and compensated gross tonnage rose by 118.87% year-on-year.
By ship type, there were 26 bulk carriers, totaling 1,730,500 deadweight tons; 28 oil tankers, totaling 4,238,900 deadweight tons; 10 chemical tankers, totaling 292,800 deadweight tons; 48 container ships, totaling 252,374 TEU; 36 gas carriers, totaling 4,290,000 cubic meters; 16 other ship types, totaling 236,735 CGT; and 30 offshore vessels, totaling 389,842 CGT.
By order type, new bulk carrier orders included 1 Capesize, 6 Panamax, and 19 Supramax bulk carriers; new oil tanker orders included 4 VLCCs, 7 Suezmax tankers, 15 Aframax tankers, and 2 Panamax tankers; new container ship orders included 12 Post-Panamax, 14 Panamax, 2 Sub-Panamax, 18 Handysize container ships, and 2 Feeder container ships.
By shipyard country receiving orders, global new ship orders in May totaled 194 ships, amounting to 5,298,938 CGT. Among them, Chinese shipyards received 117 ships, totaling 2,521,621 CGT; Japanese shipyards received 8 ships, totaling 169,803 CGT; South Korean shipyards received 46 ships, totaling 2,328,872 CGT; compensated gross tonnage accounted for 47.59%, 3.20%, and 43.95% of global new ship orders respectively.
New ship orders from January to May 2026 totaled 1,309 ships, amounting to 109,237,615 deadweight tons. Compared with 1,173 new orders totaling 45,480,032 deadweight tons in the same period of 2025, the number of ships and deadweight tons increased by 11.59% and 140.19% year-on-year respectively.
By ship type, there were 202 bulk carriers, totaling 20,292,550 deadweight tons; 241 oil tankers, totaling 51,845,426 deadweight tons; 92 chemical tankers, totaling 3,440,380 deadweight tons; 324 container ships, totaling 1,871,750 TEU; 122 gas carriers, totaling 13,930,300 cubic meters; 166 offshore vessels, totaling 1,184,418 CGT; and 162 other ship types, totaling 3,565,134 CGT.
By country, China received 906 new orders, totaling 24,423,224 CGT; Japan received 31 new orders, totaling 563,779 CGT; South Korea received 184 new orders, totaling 7,472,834 CGT; compensated gross tonnage accounted for 68.59%, 1.58%, and 20.99% of global new ship orders respectively.
Global orderbook stands at 7,384 ships, Chinese shipyards hold 5,108 ships accounting for 69.18% of global market share
According to statistics, as of June 9, 2026, the global shipyard orderbook totaled 7,384 ships, amounting to 200,201,087 CGT. Compared with 7,309 ships totaling 196,407,699 CGT as of May 8, 2026, the number of ships in the orderbook increased by 1.03% month-on-month, and compensated gross tonnage increased by 1.93% month-on-month.
Among them, Chinese shipyards held an orderbook of 5,108 ships, totaling 129,899,171 CGT, accounting for 69.18% of the global market share by number of ships and 64.88% by CGT; Japanese shipyards held an orderbook of 706 ships, totaling 12,760,797 CGT, accounting for 9.56% of the global market share by number of ships and 6.37% by CGT; South Korean shipyards held an orderbook of 799 ships, totaling 38,525,277 CGT, accounting for 10.82% of the global market share by number of ships and 19.24% by CGT.
By main ship type, the bulk carrier orderbook totaled 1,579 ships, amounting to 145,006,460 deadweight tons; the oil tanker orderbook totaled 1,767 ships, amounting to 171,250,955 deadweight tons; the container ship orderbook totaled 1,610 ships, amounting to 12,909,645 TEU.
Delivery volume decreased by 7.50% month-on-month, bulk carriers and chemical tankers delivered the most
In May 2026, global shipyards delivered a total of 233 new ships, amounting to 9,480,052 deadweight tons. Compared with 259 new ship deliveries globally in April 2026, totaling 10,248,821 deadweight tons, the number decreased by 10.04% month-on-month, and deadweight tons decreased by 7.50% month-on-month. Compared with 284 new ship deliveries globally in May 2025, totaling 7,367,421 deadweight tons, the number decreased by 17.96% year-on-year, and deadweight tons increased by 28.68% year-on-year.
By ship type, the number of bulk carriers delivered was 59, totaling 4,439,025 deadweight tons; the number of container ships delivered was 14, totaling 118,994 TEU; the number of oil tankers delivered was 23, totaling 1,719,093 deadweight tons; the number of chemical tankers delivered was 26, totaling 766,085 deadweight tons; the number of gas carriers delivered was 12, totaling 1,357,500 cubic meters; the number of offshore vessels delivered was 60, totaling 96,276 deadweight tons; the number of other ship types delivered was 39, totaling 278,488 deadweight tons.
From January to May 2026, global shipyards delivered a total of 1,346 new ships, amounting to 49,659,168 deadweight tons. Compared with 1,417 new ship deliveries totaling 39,495,099 deadweight tons in the same period of 2025, the number decreased by 5.01% year-on-year, and deadweight tons increased by 25.74% year-on-year.
By ship type, the number of bulk carriers delivered was 269, totaling 19,036,936 deadweight tons; the number of container ships delivered was 76, totaling 526,746 TEU; the number of oil tankers delivered was 120, totaling 12,752,599 deadweight tons; the number of chemical tankers delivered was 135, totaling 4,075,289 deadweight tons; the number of gas carriers delivered was 76, totaling 8,817,485 cubic meters; the number of offshore vessels delivered was 436, totaling 503,111 deadweight tons; the number of other ship types delivered was 234, totaling 2,034,620 deadweight tons.
Newbuilding prices for the three major ship types all rise
In May, the newbuilding price indices for bulk carriers, oil tankers, and container ships rose by 2 points, 2 points, and 1 point month-on-month to 174 points, 221 points, and 117 points respectively.
In May, except for the Capesize bulk carrier (/182KDWT) newbuilding price which remained flat month-on-month, newbuilding prices for other types of bulk carriers all increased compared to the previous month. The newbuilding price for Capesize bulk carriers (/182KDWT) was $75.5 million, and newbuilding prices for Panamax bulk carriers (75/77KDWT), Supramax bulk carriers (61/64.5KDWT), and Handysize bulk carriers (25/30KDWT) rose by $0.5 million, $0.5 million, and $0.45 million month-on-month to $37.5 million, $34.5 million, and $27.38 million respectively.
For oil tanker newbuilding prices, except for the VLCC (315-320KDWT) newbuilding price which remained flat month-on-month, newbuilding prices for other types of oil tankers all increased compared to the previous month. The newbuilding price for VLCC (315-320KDWT) was $130.5 million; newbuilding prices for Suezmax tankers (156-158KDWT), Aframax tankers (113-115KDWT), Panamax tankers (73-75KDWT), and Handysize tankers (47-51KDWT) rose by $0.5 million, $0.5 million, $0.1 million, and $1 million month-on-month to $89.5 million, $74.5 million, $61.5 million, and $51 million respectively.
For container ship newbuilding prices, except for the Panamax container ship (4000-4500TEU) and Handysize container ship (1800-2100TEU) newbuilding prices which remained flat month-on-month, newbuilding prices for other types of container ships increased compared to the previous month. The newbuilding prices for Panamax container ships (4000-4500TEU) and Handysize container ships (1800-2100TEU) were $61 million and $32.75 million respectively; newbuilding prices for Post-Panamax container ships (22000-24000TEU and 13000-13500TEU), Panamax container ships (8500-9500TEU), Sub-Panamax container ships (2700-3000TEU), and Handysize container ships (1000-1200TEU) rose by $1 million, $1 million, $0.5 million, $0.25 million, and $0.25 million month-on-month to $261.5 million, $173 million, $129.5 million, $45 million, and $25.25 million respectively.
