Shipyards in Jiangsu, China's largest shipbuilding province, received just 1.93 million dwt in new orders in the first half of 2015, down 86.8% from a year earlier.

Newbuilding output in Jiangsu for 1H15 amounted to 8.46 million dwt, and the order book held by local yards stood at 60.95 million dwt as of the end of June, down 10.4% year-on-year.

The plunge in new orders is attributed to the depressed shipping market, according to Tao Yonghong, a professor from Jiangsu University of Science and Technology.

The Baltic Dry Index fell to a historic low of 509 in February 2015 as demand for bulk commodities plunged.

Most yards in Jiangsu construct bulkers, orders for which have nosedived in the first quarter of 2015 worldwide.

Tao said that the decline in new orders received by Jiangsu yards is thus greater than that of the country's yards.

Local shipping experts also pointed out that the drop in orders of offshore vessels has also led to the reduction of the demand for Chinese-built ships.

Tao believes that freight rates will remain at low level in a short term, and there is little hope for the shipbuilding sector in Jiangsu and even China to see a big rebound in 2016.