South Korean shipbuilders outpaced their Chinese rivals in terms of new orders for the fifth consecutive month in November, industry data showed Tuesday.

According to the data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service, South Korean shipyards won new orders totaling 990,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs), representing 60 percent of the 1.64 million CGTs ordered globally in November.

The South Korean shipbuilders were followed by Chinese shipbuilders with 600,000 CGTs, or 37 percent, and Vietnamese shipbuilders with 50,000 CGTs in the month.

Global new shipbuilding orders reached 14.47 million CGTs in the January-November period, a sharp fall from 25.23 million CGTs a year ago.

In the first eleven months of the year, Chinese shipbuilders obtained 6.67 million CGTs in new orders, or 298 ships, taking up 46 percent of the total new orders.

They were trailed by South Korean shipbuilders with 5.02 million CGTs, or 137 ships, and Japanese shipbuilders with 1.18 million CGTs, or 78 ships.

Global order backlogs slightly rose by 30,000 CGTs, or 1 percent, to 67.84 million CGTs at the end of November from a month earlier.

Global order backlogs had been on a downward path since 80.82 million CGTs in January.

While Chinese and Japanese shipbuilders’ order backlogs fell last month, only South Korean shipbuilders’ order backlogs rose by 420,000 CGTs, or 2 percent, for a second month.

Chinese shipbuilders’ order backlogs reached 24.98 million CGTs, or 37 percent of the total, followed by South Korean shipbuilders with 19.36 million CGTs and Japanese shipbuilders with 8.29 million CGTs. (Yonhap)