Japanese Foreign Ship Orders Up

Japanese shipyards in May received foreign ship orders for 16 vessels, or 669,000 grt, up 371.8 percent from May 1998, the Japan Ship Exporters' Association said. The level, however, was down 43.9 percent from May 1997, it said. Orders in May consisted of nine bulk carriers and seven oil tankers. In April, foreign ship orders fell 40.1 percent year-on-year.