LR: HFO Will Still be the Dominant Bunker Fuel in 2030

LR expects an increase in the diversity of the fuel mix.

Nick Brown, Marine Director at Lloyd's Register Marine (LR Marine), says he still believes HFO will be the dominant bunker fuel in 2030.

Speaking at last week's Posidonia 2016 international shipping exhibition in Athens, Brown said that with global tonnage expected to double by 2030, liquefied natural gas (LNG) could also account for as much as 11 percent of the shipping industry's fuel mix - echoing the finding of its 2014 report Global Marine Fuel Trends 2030.

Despite HFO remaining the most popular fuel in terms of usage by the shipping industry, "there will be an increase in the diversity of the fuel mix," said Brown.

"We are working with designers, owners and equipment manufacturers to ensure their specific projects are considering all different alternatives including LNG as a viable alternative for localised trading in regional seas such as the Baltic Sea or the Mediterranean."

Regulatory requirements and environmental concerns, as well as fossil fuel availability, both in terms of cost and energy security, are also major drivers of LNG's uptake as fuel in shipping, explains Brown.

Theodosis Stamatelos, Europe Area Manager for LR Marine, also speaking at the exhibition, said that he too believes that cost is a key factor in LNG's uptake as fuel in shipping

"The two key drivers that will convince owners to convert to alternative fuels or order ready newbuildings is regulation and the commercial fuel split with the latter being on everybody's lips in terms of what will be the difference in price between low sulfur heavy oil versus LNG," said Stamatelos

For their part, Greek shipowners are said to be leading the adoption of LNG bunkers, with an increasing number reported to be requesting LNG ready notations for both existing and newbuildings vessels.

Last week, LR said a Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) design for a 6,600 m3 LNG bunker vessel, which has recently been given LR's Approval in Principle (AiP), is a "vital next step" in building the capability of a global marine LNG bunkering network.