LR: Carnival Mega-Vessel Order Shows LNG Bunkers are "Looking Like an Increasingly Attractive Option"

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Wednesday June 24, 2015

Nick Brown, Brand and External Relations Manager at Lloyd's Register has praised Carnival Corporation & plc's (Carnival's) recent announcement of four newbuild liquified natural gas (LNG) powered mega-cruise ships, saying the move has reinforced the alternative fuel's credentials, Travel Weekly reports.

"It's pretty exciting what Carnival has done," said Brown, highlighting that Carnival has become the first ocean cruise line to order LNG powered vessels.

"The combination of regulation and fuel prices has made operators look at their options and [natural] gas, which is now increasingly plentiful, is looking like an increasingly attractive option," he added.

"The impact on ports, where lots of ships are coming in, [will be that] the amount of harmful emissions will decline," said Brown.

Ship & Bunker reported in May that global LNG bunkering infrastructure is still lacking, with data from TRI-ZEN showing of the world's approximate 8,000 seaports, 46 are LNG bunkering hopefuls and only 15 are open for general LNG bunker business today.

However, Brown notes that in the time it will take to build the vessels over the next few years, he expects that natural gas refueling infrastructure in various ports will be more developed.

Regardless, on Thursday Carnival told Ship & Bunker that it was not deterred by the situation, and that it believes earlier adopters such as itself will help drive forward the development of LNG bunkering infrastructure.

Last week, Carnival also said the four "next-generation" LNG-powered cruise ships will have the largest guest capacity in the world.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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