In the first six months of 2015, orders at Chinese shipyards slumped 72.6% year-on-year to 11.19 million dwt, according to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

New orders for sea-going vessels totalled 4.13 million compound gross tonnage (CGT) during the same period, down 66.5% from a year ago, it said.

The orderbook of the Chinese shipbuilders fell 9.2% on an annual basis to 138.07 million dwt at the end of June. The orderbook of sea-going vessels totalled 43.30 CGT at the end of the June, of which the orderbook for exports accounting for 95%.

The plunge in new orders came after Chinese shipbuilders ended 2014 with a year-on-year 14.2% fall in awarded orders, as buyers cut back on spending on new ships since late 2014.

In addition, the completed tonnage at the Chinese yards grew 6.3% YoY to 18.53 million dwt during the same period. Among the total completed tonnage, the sea-going vessels amounted to 6.37 million CGT.