(Bloomberg) — Chinese shipyards gained the biggest share of dry-bulk commodity ship orders for the first time in at least a decade, shipbroker Clarkson Plc said.Orders with Chinese shipbuilders for vessels that carry commodities such as coal and iron ore will outpace Japan in the first quarter, said Clarkson, the world's biggest shipbroker. The shipyards have attracted orders for 98 vessels with a combined deadweight capacity of 8.7 million tons so far in 2007. Orders will rise 48 percent this year, according to Clarkson.

"Looking back over the last ten years this is the first time China has been ahead," Christian Waldegrave, an analyst at the London-based shipbroker, said in a telephone interview yesterday. "China has a lot of capacity as they're opening new yards and expanding current ones, and they're hungry for orders."

Japanese shipyards may be fully booked, Waldegrave said. "There is a often a delay in the reporting of contracts at Japanese yards, so the size of their order book and recent contracting activity may be higher," he added.

China is building more shipyards as it aims to overtake South Korea to become the world's biggest producer for all ship classes by 2015.

"Korean yards have been concentrating more on container ships, oil tankers and LNG carriers because they have a higher value, though they may consider capesizes at current prices," Waldegrave said.

Capesizes are the largest type of ship used to carry dry- bulk, while LNG carriers transport liquefied natural gas.