WinGD Finds LNG Retrofit Offers Fastest Payback

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday August 31, 2026

Retrofitting an existing ship to LNG propulsion could give shipowners the quickest financial return among the alternative-fuel options studied by WinGD.

The marine engine maker’s latest Fuel Economics Report looks at a 16,000-TEU container ship converted in 2030 to run on LNG, methanol or ammonia using WinGD’s dual-fuel engines, it said in an emailed statement on Monday. 

All three options came out ahead of continued VLSFO use over the vessel’s lifetime under the assumptions used in the study.

“LNG delivers the strongest and earliest financial return, while ammonia and bio-methanol deliver substantially deeper emissions reductions but require longer payback periods,” WinGD said.

However, ammonia and bio-methanol offer bigger emissions savings.

The LNG-to-low-GHG-LNG option had an estimated payback of six years.

Bringing the different fuel pathways down to a five-year payback would require subsidies of $126-330 per tonne of CO2 equivalent, the report found.

“The indication is that a reward mechanism for zero or near-zero emissions fuels under IMO’s Net Zero Framework would need to be of a similar level again to the US$100-380 remedial units already considered for excess emissions,” WinGD said.

“The important finding is that retrofit technology is increasingly not the limiting factor,” Carmelo Cartalemi, head of strategic marketing of WinGD, said.

“The commercial outcome is determined far more by fuel price, fuel GHG intensity and the regulatory signal.”

Ship & Bunker News Team
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