Newbuildings ordered by the top 10 Asian liner players this year account for 72.6% of the total volume of new vessels booked by the world’s leading 30 container ship companies.

Asian boxship companies ordered 236 vessels with a capacity of 1.81m teu to the end of March, according to Clarksons Research.

The volume of newbuildings is believed to have exceeded all previous records, and the number is set to rise as liner giants such as Yang Ming Marine Transport, HMM and Wan Hai Lines are understood to have started newbuilding discussions with Asian shipyards.