Newbuilding ordering activity maintained strong momentum last week, with Chinese shipyards continuing to dominate new contracts and owners from Greece, Korea and China particularly active, sources indicated on 17 September 2026, citing a weekly note from shipbroker Banchero Costa.
Banchero Costa's latest weekly report said that newbuilding activity remained active and that Chinese yards continued to dominate contracting. The broker highlighted that owners from Greece, Korea and China were especially engaged in placing orders during the reporting period.
Chinese yards at the centre of recent contracts
The report underlined the central role of Chinese yards in the most recent wave of ordering, describing them as the primary recipients of new contracts last week. That concentration of activity in China was a defining feature of the sample of deals covered by the weekly note.
Owners and vessel types driving demand
Banchero Costa noted that Greek, Korean and Chinese owners were among the most active groups placing newbuilding orders. The broker singled out tanker demand, reporting that tanker activity was led by large crude carriers.
According to the weekly note, several owners moved to add very large crude carriers to their fleets and also placed orders for Suezmax tonnage. Those vessel classes were identified explicitly as leading the most recent ordering activity.
The weekly assessment therefore presented an ordering picture dominated by the tanker segment, with large crude carriers prominent among the newbuilds recorded. The broker's commentary concentrated on these categories when describing where fresh contracting was occurring.
Taken together, the weekly note furnished a clear snapshot: newbuilding ordering kept its upward course over the week in question, Chinese yards featured heavily among the contracts reported, and tanker owners, particularly those seeking VLCC and Suezmax tonnage, were conspicuous in the buyer cohort.
The reports item reproducing Banchero Costa's observations served to collate the broker's key lines of reporting for the week ending on the date of the item. The broker's weekly briefs remain a regular barometer used by market participants to follow short-term ordering rhythms.
Market observers following successive weekly releases will read the latest note as a continuation of the theme signalled in this instalment: active ordering across a sample of owners, with China-based shipyards the principal recipients and tanker orders weighted towards large crude carriers and Suezmax ships. reports provided the published summary of Banchero Costa's findings on 17 September 2026.