Fossil LNG May be Able to Reach IMO 2050 Carbon Target: GTT

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday April 9, 2021

LNG-fuelled ships with some fuel efficiency equipment fitted may be able to meet the International Maritime Organization's 2050 target for greenhouse gas emissions reduction without the need to shift to lower-carbon fuels, according to engineering company GTT.

The emissions savings to be achieved by switching to LNG bunkering are a matter of controversy, with supporters and opponents quoting different figures for the greenhouse effect of the methane accidentally leaked during bunker operations, depending on the timeframe over which the effect is observed.

Supporters of LNG tend to argue that its use could be used to achieve the IMO's target of cutting carbon emissions per transport work by at least 40% from 2008's levels by 2030. But it is generally assumed that carbon-neutral bio- or synthetic LNG would need to be used for gas-powered ships to comply with the 2050 goal of halving the shipping industry's total greenhouse gas emissions from 2008's levels.

"LNG as it is today is already compliant with the 2030 target," Hadi Farhoud, head of strategy and marketing at GTT, said at Petrospot's Ship.Energy Summit 2021 last week.

"And if you add some energy efficiency devices to reduce the consumption of the vessel, we believe that LNG plus these energy-efficiency devices could reach the 2050 target."

GTT's modelling is based on a 23,000 TEU container ship, Farhoud said.