January was a very slow month for South Korean shipbuilders as the country's big three failed to receive any new ship orders, Yonhap reported citing industry sources.

As disclosed, this is the first time that no orders were reaped in January, despite the fact that this is typically a very slow month with respect to new orders.

The blank order-book adds to the woes of the big three, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), as they report major losses amid the depressed industry.

As a result, the three shipbuilders were forced to cut their order targets for 2016. Hyundai Heavy set its order target at US$19.5bn in 2016, compared to last year's target of almost US$23bn. DSME and SHI also cut their targets, eyeing US$10bn worth of new orders for this year.