The Week in Alt Fuels: LBM on the rise and raising questions

As the LNG-capable vessel fleet grows, liquefied biomethane (LBM) availability is set to come under further pressure.

IMAGE: Axpo delivered the first LBM stem in Spain last year with its Avenir Aspiration bunker vessel. Axpo

LNG led the new orders of vessels with alternative fuel capabilities again in January with 16 of 20 orders, bringing the LNG orderbook to 655 vessels for deliveries scheduled through to 2033, according to DNV data.

That was a continuation of last year trend, when LNG-capable vessel orders made up 68% of alternative fuel-capable vessel orders, and 193 LNG-capable vessels entered into operation. LNG-capable vessel deployments dwarfed methanol (59), LPG (17) and ammonia (1) in January.

LNG bunker sales grew to new highs in Singapore (571,000 mt) and Rotterdam (447,000 mt) last year. Rotterdam’s bio-LNG sales increased more than six-fold to just under 8,000 mt.

LNG bunker deliveries took place in a lot more ports than those two, however. LBM also picked up, especially in Europe where EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime favoured its emission profiles and economic viability. LBM was perhaps the fuel of the year in 2025, coming from nearly nothing and making headlines from pilots, tenders and FuelEU pool entries around Europe.

LBM has been delivered in the ARA, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Travemunde, Elbe, Klaipeda, Turku, Gothenburg, Visby, Risavika, Dusavik, Kårstø, Mongstad, Le Havre, Portsmouth, Southampton, Gibraltar, Tenerife, Huelva, Vigo, Barcelona, Algeciras, Malaga, Genoa, among other European locations.

This list is not exhaustive and there were several new entries in 2025. Antwerp became the main LNG bunker hub, according to Kpler, which estimated a 266% supply increase on the year. Germany grew by 39%, while the Baltic Sea region dropped by 47%.

All LNG-capable vessels are also by default LBM-capable as these fuels are made up of the same molecules produced in different ways. What matters most for choosing LBM over LNG is broadly:

• Route: Does the ship sail in the EU and can it cut EU ETS costs and generate transferable or saleable FuelEU compliance surpluses?
• Availability: Does it call at or near locations with ISCC EU-certified bunker suppliers and terminals that can mass-balance or physically deliver LBM?
• Price tag: In addition to FuelEU pooling and EU ETS cost-cutting, can the ship pass on the price premium of LBM over LNG, LSMGO or VLSFO to its customers, whether they are cargo owners or passengers?

The answers to all those three questions have become “yes” for more and more LNG/LBM-capable ships. LBM availability was tight at times last year, especially for a product with GHG intensities deep into the minuses, which are more valuable for FuelEU pooling.

As the benefits of LBM become apparent to yet more shipping companies with capable vessels in Europe, it will put additional pressure on availability.

For a company considering LBM bunkering towards the end of the decade, the key risk is not as much whether bio-methane exists, but whether certified volumes can be secured at scale and at predictable prices.

Commodity research firm Rystad suggests that most bio-methane is already committed to other sectors (notably power and road transport), leaving only a small residual pool for “other uses” including maritime. This means that LBM availability could be constrained unless policy and contracting redirect volumes.

One bunker supplier said it expects supply to tighten as more LBM-capable vessels enter into operation. Bunker vessel capacity is increasing, but is not keeping up with the LBM-capable fleet. This is especially true for bunker vessels in Northern Europe.

In other alt news this week, LNG dominated January’s ordering activity with 16 of the 20 orders made for alternative fuel-capable vessels, according to DNV data. That brought the LNG orderbook to 655 vessels, with deliveries scheduled through to 2033.

Viking Line has locked in LBM volumes to significantly cut fossil LNG use on its key Baltic Sea route. The Finnish ferry operator has secured enough LBM to cover 50% of the fuel requirements for its LNG-capable fleet in the first half of this year.

Havila Kystruten has started bunkering LNG by truck in Norway’s Hammerfest. The LNG was delivered by Barents NaturGass, which has previously delivered LBM to one of Havila’s cruise ships.

Reganosa said its Mugardos Energy Terminal on Spain’s northern coast is now ready to deliver LBM to ships. The terminal has been operational since 2007, and has two LNG storage tanks of a combined capacity of 300,000 cbm (134,000 mt). It has now secured an ISCC EU certification allowing it to sell sustainable LBM.

Axpo will deploy an LNG bunker vessel for physical deliveries along the Italian coast and across the wider western Mediterranean, the bunker supplier said. Axpo has chartered the 7,500 cbm-capacity Green Pearl on a 10-year basis from G&H Shipping, its third delivery vessel.

By Erik Hoffmann

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