Asia/Pacific News
Rising Demand for Methanol-fuelled Newbuilds
Demand for methanol-fuelled newbuilds will surge, a major South Korean shipbuilder has said.
Speaking to the London-based Financial Times, Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering chief executive Ka Sam-hyun said that he expects such orders to increase over the coming decade.
"Orders for methanol-fuelled ships will increase sharply for more than 10 years, although [liquefied natural gas] burning ships will remain the mainstream for the next two decades," the executive was quoted as saying.
The rise is reflected in the numbers as some 50 methanol dual-fuelled vessels are to be ordered worldwide before the end of this year. Last year, there were orders for 19 methanol dual-fuelled vessels, the report said.
Competition for a share of the nascent market is intensifying between South Korea and China.
Building a dual-fuelled methanol vessel is cheaper than one designed to use LNG,
as methanol does not require expensive cryogenic bunker tanks and fuel gas handling systems, according to the report.
