Chinese yards sitting on hundreds of abandoned offshore support vessels have cut their asking prices by about 50% — but this is still not low enough to tempt buyers.

The yards, which are facing massive losses on building costs, need to slash prices by another 20% to 25% to offload the ships, according to offshore sale-and-purchase brokers in Asia.

“There is some interest from buyers in these Chinese newbuildings but I would say, right now, it is mostly people just walking around and kicking the tyres, so to speak,” one broker said this week.