Shipping Industry Needs a Credible, Fact-Based Case for LNG Bunkers: Keller

Peter Keller, SEA/LNG chairman and Executive Vice President of TOTE. Image Credit: Tote

Despite enjoying considerable momentum this year, the LNG bunker industry still needs to make a credible, fact-based case for LNG as a marine fuel to the shipping industry, says SEA\LNG Chairman, Peter Keller.

Writing in a in a blog post released today, Keller says his group intends to better understand the various industry stakeholders and decision makers, and then develop content and data accordingly to help them evaluate future fuel alternatives.

"The industry continues to require credible, fact-based material, backed-up by academic research as necessary, on the emissions, investment and infrastructure case for LNG," he says.

The emissions case is arguably the most pressing of the three, and as highlighted by a recent ITF report as well as recent legislation in Norway, some fear future emissions regulations could disincentive the alternative fuel.

Indeed, Keller says that while "most agree that LNG essentially eliminates both SOx and PM emissions and reduces NOx by up to 90%," it is LNG's performance on GHG reduction where the burning questions lie.

The issue has become increasingly important following industry agreement in April to cut GHG emissions from Shipping by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008.

Some believe that compared to burning HFO the GHG reduction LNG affords is as much as 30%, while others say that once the full lifecycle is taken into account the saving amounts to zero or worse.

Today, Keller said "LNG offers serious GHG emissions reductions" rather then opting to quantify any difference, but acknowledged that "certainly there are still many open and important questions relating to the global warming implications of methane emissions in natural gas production and transportation as well as methane slippage in marine engines."

In an effort to bring clarity to the matter, Keller says SEA\LNG is collaborating to sponsor "a comprehensive, academically validated analysis which will compare full lifecycle, well-to-wake GHG emissions of LNG-fuelled propulsion systems with IMO 2020 compliant oil-based solutions such as low sulphur fuels and high sulphur fuels with exhaust abatement; for example, scrubbers."

Other alternatives, including potential future fuels that may not even be currently viable or commercially available, will also be examined in an effort to provide a complete picture of all alternatives.

"This will be important work to help create factual, data-based answers to the questions before the industry," he says.