Bigger LNG-Powered Box Ships "Only a Matter of Time" Says ABS

Patrick Janssens of ABS says growing interest in LNG Ready designs are a signal that larger LNG-powered containerships are coming.

Larger containerships powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) are an impending reality, Patrick Janssens, Vice President of Global Gas Solutions at the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has told World Maritime News in a recent interview.

However there are numerous reasons why progress has been slow, he says, with bunker prices having slumped to their lowest in well over a decade being one of them.

With shipping left out of the global climate agreement penned at COP21 in Paris in December, Janssens says LNG will have a major role to play in achieving emission reductions within the shipping industry.

"LNG as a marine fuel has a central role in reducing the overall CO2 emissions inventory from shipping, and it will become increasingly attractive as shipping and its regulators work to further reduce the industry's contribution to climate change," said Janssens.

He also notes that widespread uptake of LNG as marine fuel depends a considerable amount upon the level of experience and knowledge that exists of how to effectively design and build LNG-propelled and LNG-ready vessels.

As Ship & Bunker reported in October, TOTE Maritime received the delivery of the Isla Bella, the world's first LNG powered containership.

"TOTE Maritime's Marlin-class ships – just like those for Nordic Hamburg (Nordic Hamburg Shipmanagement GmbH & Co. KG) – were built for specific trades and capacities, but the interest shown in LNG Ready designs suggests it is only a matter of time before we see larger LNG-powered containerships," said Janssens.

He adds that ABS is working to provide both guidance and support in order to help those looking to build LNG and LNG-ready vessels to do so "safely and sustainably."

Janssens says bulk carriers and tankers are one area of shipping that have notably not yet fully embraced LNG or LNG Ready designs, adding that their are many reasons why this is the case.

"The reasons are numerous: the low bunker price, the number of sailing days spent within an Emission Control Area (ECA), the availability of low sulfur fuel and alternative compliance options," said Janssens.

Further, Janssens says that the trading patterns of bulkers and tankers make it more difficult to consistently source LNG bunkers for such vessels, but notes that "just as with containerships, it seems likely that more and more owners will consider this option in the future."

Janssens says a major challenge to the overall uptake of LNG-propulsion in the global shipping industry is ensuring crew training and competency in the differences between operations with LNG as fuel as compared to conventional fuel.

In terms of the impetus for operators to utilise LNG as fuel, he adds that "regulation remains the strongest driver," explaining that regulation is where economic and environmental arguments converge.

"The North American shipping market probably has the fewest number of obstacles to adopting LNG as fuel because it has a coastal trading fleet that needs to comply with ECA regulations," said Janssens.

Last week, it was reported that TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico successfully bunkered Isla Bella, the world's first LNG powered containership, with LNG at the Port of Jacksonville in Florida, U.S. — the first successful LNG bunkering operation to occur at the port.