New orders of ships worldwide fell to a historic low in the first half of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources said.

In the January-June period, global new shipbuilding orders totaled 5.75 million compensated gross tons, or a total of 269 ships, according to data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service.

The tally is the lowest since 1996, when the market tracker began to compile related data, and a 42 percent drop from the previous year, the data showed. (Yonhap)