South Korean shipbuilders were outpaced by Chinese and Japanese rivals in terms of new orders in the third quarter of the year, industry data showed Monday, amid deepening woes over their growing losses.

According to the data compiled by global researcher Clarkson Research Services, South Korean shipyards bagged new orders totaling 2.11 million compensated gross tons last month, trailing Chinese shipbuilders at 3.48 million CGTs and Japanese companies with 2.36 million CGTs.

South Korea retained its status as the world's leading shipbuilding country in terms of new orders between February and June. It was relegated to second place in July and to third in August.

In the first nine months of the year, South Korean shipbuilders secured new shipbuilding orders totaling 8.77 million CGTs, followed by China with 6.33 million CGTs and Japan with 5.99 million CGTs.

As of end-September, China had the largest order backlog, totaling 40.42 million CGTs, trailed by South Korea with 32.08 million CGTs and Japan with 21.2 million CGTs, according to the data.

South Korean shipbuilders are struggling with huge losses stemming from the delivery of low-priced ships and a delay in the construction of offshore facilities such as drill ships.

The country's big three shipbuilders -- Hyundai Heavy, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, and Samsung Heavy Industries -- racked up a combined loss of 4.7 trillion won ($4 billion) in the first half of 2015. (Yonhap)