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DNV Sees 'Very Slow Growth' in Gas-Powered Ships With Six Orders in June
Classification society DNV has said growth in LNG-fuelled ship orders slowed significantly last month.
The firm noted just six additional LNG-fuelled ship orders in June, Martin Christian Wold, principal consultant in DNV's maritime advisory business, said in a LinkedIn post on Monday. Because of a downward adjustment to a previously reported order, the firm noted this as net growth to the orderbook of two vessels.
This follows 30 orders in May and 51 in April, taking the Q2 net total to 83 orders, a quarterly record.
"Despite very slow growth towards the end of the quarter, Q2 stands out as the strongest ever quarter for LNG newbuilds contracting," Wold said.
"However, the pipeline is piling up with LOIs and rumours of numerous container vessel and car carrier orders, so the LNG bunkering market is likely to experience a bit of a 'ketchup-bottle effect' over the next few months."
The slowdown in orders is likely to be related to current strength in LNG bunker prices in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
LNG bunkers at Rotterdam priced in fuel oil terms stood at $1,796/mt as of June 27, according to Ship & Bunker prices provided by supplier Titan, up from $557/mt a year earlier.