LNG bunker prices fall from record levels in Rotterdam as orders build continues for LNG-fuelled ships
European maritime classification society DNV said that there was still momentum in orders for LNG-powered vessels from ship owners in the month of September even at a time of very elevated LNG bunker prices in ports such as Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
The DNV report said that at the end of September there were 833 confirmed LNG-powered ships, six more than in August, and 229 additional LNG-ready ships, while LNG bunkering infrastructure was continuing to be developed worldwide.
“According to the latest figures from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform, 14 LNG vessels were added in September. However, contract cancellations limits the net increase to six ships,” explained DNV.
“This last quarter was the slowest on record since the fourth quarter of 2020 with a net increase of 26 ships, which we attribute mainly to reduced newbuild contracting in general,” said the Norway-based class society.
“The total order figure for the year to date has reached 179 with mainly container liners helping to keep the momentum up this month,” stated DNV.
For methanol-fuelled ships the data showed the total at 66 vessels with around 40 percent of the fleet also transporting methanol as cargo.
Containerships lead
The DNV data showed that total number of LNG-powered ships in operation or on order at the end of September 2022 comprised in the largest sectors 211 containerships, 106 car carriers, 89 crude oil tankers and 54 oil-chemical tankers.
There were also 66 bulk carriers using and planning to use LNG, 50 car and passenger ferries, 39 cruise liners, 38 tugs, 37 offshore supply vessels and 33 RoPax ships.
This data does not include smaller inland vessels and barges that are part of the Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp (ARA) refining hub transportation in northwest Europe.
Analysts note that LNG remained the preferred low-carbon solution despite current gas pricing which is expected to last into the near future.
That’s as LNG priced in fuel oil terms at Rotterdam declined sharply at the start of October to $2,870 a tonne, well down from the previous record of around $4,545 per tonne at the start of September 2022.
Among other emissions-reducing fuels, Ultra Low Sulfur Fuel Oil (ULSFO) at the Dutch port declined during the period and was priced at the start of October at around $915 per tonne compared with $990 per tonne at the start of September.
