South Korea's top three shipbuilders have clinched over 80 percent of global orders placed this year to build liquefied natural gas(LNG) carriers.

According to industry sources and the UK's Clarksons Research, a data provider on global shipping, the three major Korean shipyards won deals to build 56 LNG carriers this year, which is over 86 percent of the total 65 global orders.

In the case of large-sized carriers measuring over 160-thousand cubic meters and whose construction costs are relatively higher, Korea's top three bagged all of the 55 orders for a 100 percent market share.

Foreign rivals won deals to build nine medium- to small-sized LNG carriers measuring under 40-thousand cubic meters.

Among the three Korean shipyards, Hyundai Heavy Industries has secured the most orders to construct 25 LNG ships, followed by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering at 17 and Samsung Heavy Industries at 14.