LNG Bunkers "Cannot Be Ignored" says BSM

Angus Campbell, Managing Director at BSM says the move to LNG is inevitable, calling the fuel a "game changer."

Angus Campbell, Managing Director at Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement UK (BSM) has said the the move to LNG (liquid natural gas) bunkers is a "game changer which cannot be ignored," Ship Management International reports.

"Independent industry predictions indicate that the use of LNG as a bunker fuel offers opportunities for early movers to secure a market leading position ashore and afloat, and global LNG fuelling will become a mainstream option," asserted Campbell, who was speaking this week at the Gastech conference in Singapore.

"It has happened before. Wind gave way to coal and coal in its turn gave way to oil. The move from oil to natural gas is simply the next progression in the evolution of maritime transportation."

Campbell argues that, in the context of toughening environmental regulation and the industry's continual pursuit of lower operating costs, LNG boasts many more advantages compared to distillate fuels and exhaust scrubbing technologies.

Commenting on LNG supply and overall future feasibility of the fuel's adoption, Campbell added that "LNG will be with us for a very long time  – with over 200 years supply in the ground it is sustainable, meets current and planned emission limits and, as it is a clean fuel, offers maintenance and cost improvements."

BSM says it has committed to investing in LNG technologies to leverage the market's future direction toward LNG, with Campbell explaining that the company is working in partnership with  BMT TITRON (UK) Ltd (BMT Triton) and Babcock LGE Process (Babcock LGE),  to develop its own unique Gas Fuel Supply Vessel design which will support LNG fuelled ships, and the delivery of gas to small onshore facilities and large off-pipe consumers.

In September, James Corbett, a professor at the University of Delaware, questioned the green credentials of LNG saying that, while using LNG would reduce marine emissions, there is little infrastructure in place to minimise greenhouse gases during the natural gas extraction process.