South Korea has reclaimed the top spot in the global shipbuilding industry for the first time in seven years. 

According to British research firm Clarkson Research Services, South Korean shipbuilders won combined orders of 12-point-63 million compensated gross tonnage(CGT) last year or 44-point-two percent of total ship orders placed globally in 2018.  

South Korea had conceded the title to China in 2012 and trailed China for the following five years. The shift in ranking was partly attributed to South Korean firms’ successful bids to build high-valued ships such as liquefied natural gas(LNG) carriers. 

In 2018, China finished second with 32 percent of global orders at nine-point-15 million CGT while Japan came in third with 12-point-six percent at three-point-six million CGT. 

CGT is a measurement of how much work is needed to build a ship.