Orders for China's shipbuilding industry ranked top in the world in the first quarter of this year followed by South Korea and Italy, according to data released by British shipbuilding and marine analysis agency Clarkson Research Services.

The research shows China's cumulative order volume for the first quarter reached 2.58 million compensated gross tons or 35 vessels, securing 45 percent of the global market.

The shipbuilding order volume for South Korea totaled 1.62 million CGT, or 24 vessels, and Italy reached 780,000 CGT, or 10 vessels. The two countries account for 28 percent and 14 percent of global orders respectively.

Japan's shipbuilding order volume was ranked fourth in the world, with a global market share of 8 percent, a total of 470,000 CGT from 20 vessels.

In the January to March period, China was only exceeded by South Korea in February in terms of new shipbuilding orders.

Data shows global orders for new vessels totaled 5.73 million CGT or 196 vessels in the first quarter of this year, a 42 percent decrease compared with 9.96 million CGT in the same period last year.

When it comes to handling orders, China ranked first with 29.92 million CGT, followed by South Korea and Japan with 21.33 million and 14.18 million CGT, respectively.

In addition, among the three countries only China saw a rise in handling orders compared with February.

In 2012 China replaced South Korea as the world's top shipbuilding order holder for the first time.