LNG-Powered Ships Pass 1,000 Vessel Milestone

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday January 9, 2024

There are now over 1,000 LNG-powered ships in operation or on order, according to the latest data from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform.

The milestone, which excludes LNG carriers, was reached last month after December 2023 saw a further 18 LNG-powered vessels ordered.

With 469 LNG-powered ships currently in operation, taking the current order book into account DNV projects that number will hit 1,002 in 2027 and reach 1,006 in 2028.

While LNG’s 130 vessels ordered last year - down sharply from 222 in 2022 - put it just behind the industry’s most popular alternative fuel choice of methanol with 138 orders, DNV were keen to point out that a large number of methanol orders were retrofits.

“When looking at newbuilds alone LNG would be in the lead,” DNV said.

In 2023, the container ships saw the most LNG orders with 48, followed by car carriers (40), and tankers (30).

With the rising prominence of methanol bunkers, presumably at LNG’s expense, DNV added that passing the 1,000 vessel milestone showed “the fuel's continued importance in the maritime energy transition.”

In a post on LinkedIn, Martin Wold, Principal Consultant in DNV’s Maritime Advisory business added that it was a long anticipated milestone.

Indeed, in 2012 DNV - known then as DNV GL - had predicted there would be 1,000 LNG-powered vessels in operation by 2020.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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