Americas News
North America "Leapfrogging" Europe on LNG
Forty-two liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered vessels are now under development or evaluation for use in North America, Zeus Development Corp. found in a survey.
"LNG in North America is leapfrogging past Europe into the next technological generation," said Siyu Chen, LNG fuel analyst with the firm.
"Though the first project (Harvey Gulf's offshore service vessel, the Harvey Energy) has only recently been completed, American fleets are already ordering more, larger vessels than almost anywhere else."
The projects include 17 ferries, 12 tankers and bulk carriers, six offshore service vessels, six container vessels and an articulated tug barge.
Twelve of the projects would convert existing vessels to LNG bunkers, while the others involve newbuilding projects.
Johan Sperling, vice president of Jensen Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, said in November that he expects a "very big" market for LNG-fuelled vessels, particularly in the U.S.
