LNG

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.

Pavilion Energy, the Singaporean gas and fuel company, and European classification society DNV have jointly developed a successful digital LNG bunkering method for employment in the Port of Singapore.

European maritime classification society DNV said that there was still momentum in orders for LNG-fuelled vessels from ship owners in the month of August even as LNG bunker prices hit record levels in ports such as Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The DNV report said there were currently 827 confirmed LNG-powered ships and 229 additional LNG-ready ships, while LNG bunkering infrastructure was continuing to be developed worldwide.

DNV said that car carriers broke through the 100 confirmed ships line to 104 and containerships moved above the 200 ships mark to 209.

That’s as LNG priced in fuel oil terms at Rotterdam hit record levels of around $4,545 per tonne on September 2 versus about $3,255 per tonne on August 1.

Among other emissions-reducing fuels, Ultra Low Sulfur Fuel Oil (ULSFO) at the Dutch port declined slightly during the period and was priced on September 2 at around $990 per tonne compared with $1,010 per tonne in mid-August.

According to the latest figures from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform, 13 LNG vessels were added in August.

However, the increase on the database will only be 11 additional orders, as the electrification of the Norwegian ferry sector continues, evidenced by two more ferries being retrofitted for pure battery operations and thus moving to another category.

The total order figure for the year to date has therefore reached 173, with the last month seeing a mix of smaller and larger vessels ordered.

Perfect snapshot

“This month's update is a perfect snapshot of the current alternative fuels trend, and clear evidence of the diversified fuel mix predicted.,” explained Martin Wold, Principal Consultant in DNV’s Maritime Advisory business.

“Electrification will continue to happen, where technically feasible, meaning for small ships and on short crossings,” said Wold.

“LNG remains the preferred low carbon solution, despite current gas pricing which we must assume will prevail for some time,” he added.

“We are also witnessing the start of the diversification into methanol fuel on trades where there is sufficient confidence that supply can be made available on a reasonable time scale. For regional and international trading ships LNG and methanol is likely to be the short- to mid-term preference going forward,” stated Wold.

According to DNV, there are now 209 LNG-powered containerships in operation or on order, followed by 87 crude oil tankers, 74 oil-chemical tankers and 62 bulk carriers.

Among other classes of LNG-fuelled ships in operation or on order, there were 104 pure car carriers, 50 car or passenger ferries, 39 cruise liners, 38 tugs, 37 offshore supply vessels, 33 roll-on and roll-off ships and a smaller number of general cargo ships and fishing vessels.

This data does not include smaller inland vessels and barges that are part of the Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp (ARA) refining hub in northwest Europe.

“LNG bunkering infrastructure is being developed to supply the growing fleet,” said DNV.

European maritime classification society DNV said that there was still momentum in orders for LNG-fuelled vessels from ship owners in the month of June even as LNG bunker prices increased further in ports such as Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

DNV GL, the European maritime classification society and risk management company with widespread operations in the LNG sector, said its name would change to DNV from March 2021.