The money for these ships is coming from investors that are looking for higher returns than high priced equity based investments can give. Ships are seen as very visible assets and financial advisers are not providing the historic context with which to view the risk of investing in ships. Still, Wall Street types continue to hype their wares. This kind of thinking is the same as Wall Street's. I think Sydney Levine, President of Shipping Intelligence, Inc., summed it up in a comment made earlier this year.
Nobody looks to the future to figure out what's going to happen to their investment.
Of course a resurrection of the Pacific Rim economies, and China in particular, as a vibrantly growing area needing more and more shipping, can quickly change the above doom and gloom for ship owners. However, the investors are not likely to see that picture - ever.