Chinese shipyards have seen steel nearly double in cost over the past year, adding to their woes of few contracts and rock-bottom newbuilding prices.
Depressed demand for newbuildings hit shipyards hard in 2016 with orders falling by 63% from the previous year to just 419 contracts worth $30.9bn, according to London broker Clarksons.
Those yards are now also having to cope with the rise in the cost of steel plate, by far the most expensive item on the shipbuilding materials list.
According
