JAPAN SHIPBUILDERS SEEK CARTEL TO RESTRICT OUTPUT Japanese shipbuilders have applied to the state's Fair Trade Commission to form a cartel to restrict tonnage built to about half of total capacity for the year starting April 1, officials of the Shipbuilders Association of Japan said. Under the plan, 33 yards capable of building ships of more than 10,000 gross tons will curtail operations to three mln compensated gross registered tonnes (CGRT) a year against capacity of about six mln CGRT. The Transport Ministry estimates new orders at 3.3 mln CGRT in the year to March 1988 and 3.1 mln the following year. The industry has curtailed production due to oversupply nearly every year since 1977/78, under cartel or Transport Ministry guidelines. The latest guidelines call for a ceiling of four mln CGRT in the year to March 31. The cartels, self-imposed and self-regulated, are not legally binding, but industry finds it in its own interest to stick to them. The slowdown in orders has been caused by the strong yen and a protracted worldwide shipbuilding slump.