LNG Bunkers "at The Edge of a Great Achievement"

Harvey Energy is the first OSV to be bunkered with LNG in North America

Speakers last week agreed at a Brookings Institution event in Washington, DC, that the shipping industry is moving towards a future of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) bunkers, Oil & Gas Journal reports.

"We're at the edge of a great achievement similar to 1914," said James Corbett, Professor at the University of Delaware's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment.

Pointing to 1914 as the year when the shipping industry turned from coal to oil, he added "we're at another 100-year milestone" as the industry turns to LNG.

According to the report, orders for new vessels increasingly stipulate dual-fuel capability and the economics of LNG as a marine fuel remain attractive despite the recent drop in oil prices.

Last month, the Harvey Energy became the first offshore support vessel to be bunkered with LNG in North America.

In Europe, Shell has commissioned an ocean going LNG bunkering vessel for use at Rotterdam, citing growing demand.

John Graykowski, former Deputy Maritime Administrator at the U.S. Department of Transport, said there was a "fortuitous confluence" of good prices and low environmental impact, as regards LNG bunkers.

LNG Bunkering in EU, Singapore by 2020

Still, many shippers will wait until a wider infrastructure for LNG bunkering is in place before committing to using LNG as a primary fuel, according to the report.

To this end, all 26 European Union (EU) member states, plus Singapore, are said to have committed to offering LNG bunkering by 2020.

From a U.S. perspective, divided regulation is said to hamper moves towards adoption of LNG, making investment decisions more complex.

"With the right policies, some 20,000 inland tugboats could be conversion candidates" to become LNG-fuelled vessels, said Graykowski.

"What we need is more coherent leadership."

Last month, Canada announced tax incentives for its British Columbia LNG industry, in the form of accelerated depreciation, hoping to spur final investment decisions in a number of tabled LNG projects.