September a ‘slow month’ for alt-capable vessel orders – DNV

Nine LNG-capable and eight methanol-capable vessels were ordered in September, according to DNV.

IMAGE: Concept design of methanol-capable vessel. Tsuneishi Shipbuilding

This follows a total of 108 orders for LNG-capable vessels and 49 for methanol-capable vessels in the past two months, said Kristian Hammer, a senior consultant at DNV.

“A slow month for alternative-fuelled vessels in September, but we continue to be encouraged by the big picture,” Hammer wrote in a social media post.

The “big picture” shows that there are now 607 LNG-capable ships in operation and another 565 on order for delivery scheduled through to 2033. For methanol, the numbers are lower, with 43 methanol-capable ships in operation and another 313 on order for delivery by 2029.

LNG is more widely used as an alternative fuel than methanol. Grey methanol, produced from natural gas, is not an ideal alternative bunker fuel since its well-to-wake (WtW) emissions are higher than those of VLSFO or LNG.

Grey methanol’s emission factor is 100.4 grams of CO2-equivalent per megajoule of energy (100.4 gCO2e/MJ), which is higher than VLSFO (90.77 gCO2e/MJ) and LNG (83.2 gCO2e/MJ), according to calculations by energy expert Jeroen Dierickx, based on the EU's FuelEU database.

Bio-methanol (13.3 gCO2e/MJ) remains elusive on a wider scale due to low supply and high prices compared to conventional fuels.

Other alternative fuels under consideration include liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and ammonia. The DNV database shows that 121 LPG-capable ships are currently in operation and 82 are on order for delivery by 2028. There are two ammonia-capable ships in operation and 25 more on order for delivery by 2027.

However, as the regulations governing the use of ammonia and LPG as marine fuels are still being developed, these fuels have not yet been commercially implemented in shipping.

By Konica Bhatt

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