China Boasts a Gas-Fuelled Fleet of 275 as Bullish Outlook for LNG Bunkering Continues

One consultant says LNG as a fuel is now available in most major ports. File Image / Pixabay

2018's bullish outlook for liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering continues this week courtesy of several recent reports highlighting increased interest and and adoption for the emerging marine fuel.

Among those was a report by Interfax quoting Ji Yongbo, a researcher at the China Waterborne Transport Institute, who last week spoke at a conference in Nanjing.

Ji said China now boasts a fleet of 275 LNG-powered ships, 160 of which were newbuilds and 115 were retrofits.

The country also has 19 completed LNG bunkering stations, albeit only three of which are currently operational.

Elsewhere, as part of an interview feature by World Maritime News conducted during the recent Asia Pacific Maritime (APM) event, Dr. Marc Perrin, Independent Consultant for ENGIE Lab CRIGEN, hinted that the previously troublesome issue of LNG bunker availability was now a thing of the past.

"LNG as a fuel is already available in most major ports and areas impacted by emissions regulations," he was quoted as saying.

"In the most optimistic forecasts for the development of LNG as marine fuel, this specific market will represent only a few percent of the global LNG world market. So there is no global availability issue for LNG with large reserves being explored, contrarily to its competitor fuels such as LPG or methanol. And there is a good reason to think that the LNG price will probably remain low for the years to come."

As Ship & Bunker previously reported, following a period of relatively lacklustre interest, advocates say 2018 could be a "tipping year" for LNG bunkers.

World Maritime News' full interview can be read here: https://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/247762/what-will-be-the-marine-fuel-of-the-future/