HANSA 01-2021

SCHiFFStECHNiK | SHiP tECHNoloGY
© data: Cklarksons
LNG-fuelled/-capable Ships (excl. LNG Carriers)
Segment In operation On order
All 202 227
Tankers 34 72
Ferries 50 24
Container 11 30
Offshore 32 19
Cruise 7 28
ty for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF), sees
the lNG-community grow »at an accelerating
pace with notable take ups in almost
all sectors«. Bell says that many have
changed their mind regarding lNG as a
marine fuel. »The main reason is the significant
and increasing availability, not
of lNG but of lNG via bunkering infrastructure.
This decreases uncertainties of
supply and availability,« he tells HaNSa.
at the same time, the main argument
against lNG seems to be cost, Bell says,
»not of the lNG, not necessarily the vessel
either, but the infrastructure that is
needed.«
Nevertheless, the much-cited »chicken
and egg problem« for the uptake of
Green Investments Fleet % Fleet Orderbook % Orderbook
Alternative Fuels Uptake, No. Vessels
LNG (LNG Carriers) 407 0,4% 138 4,0%
LNG (excl. LNG Carriers) 202 0,2% 227 6,7%
LPG 1 0,0% 37 1,1%
Biofuel 23 0,0% 7 0,2%
Methanol 12 0,0% 11 0,3%
Ethane 7 0,0% 13 0,4%
Hydrogen 0 0,0% 3 0,1%
Ammonia 0 0,0% 0 0,0%
Battery / Hybrid Propulsion 141 0,1% 109 3,2%
Total 776 0,8% 520 15,2%
Alternative Fuels Uptake, million GT
LNG (LNG Carriers) 42,7 3,0% 13,2 11,5%
LNG (excl. LNG Carriers) 5,2 0,4% 15,1 13,1%
LPG 0,0 0,0% 1,5 1,3%
Biofuel 0,5 0,0% 0,0 0,0%
Methanol 0,4 0,0% 0,3 0,3%
Ethane 0,3 0,0% 0,6 0,5%
Hydrogen 0,0 0,0% 0,0 0,0%
Ammonia 0,0 0,0% 0,0 0,0%
Battery / Hybrid Propulsion 1,0 0,1% 0,8 0,7%
Total 49,9 3,5% 31,4 27,2%
© Port of rotterdam
lNG – especially for large, long distance
deepsea vessels – has been solved
by »large step changes in volumes and
technology.« after smaller vessels, ferries,
roro vessels and large cruise ships,
CMa CGM has proven this point by introducing
a new class of lNG-powered
UlCVs with a capacity of 23.000 tEU.
These ships have enough tank capacity
for an asia-Europe roundtrip. Nine
of these UlCVs have been ordered,
by 2022 CMa CGM plans to operate
26 lNG-fuelled ships. Hapag-lloyd is
rumoured to be just about to order a dozen
new lNG-powered large containerships
with capacities up to 23.000 tEU.
Bell points to the membrane tank technology
that is needed for those vessels,
which is now available. He thinks, lNG
is a »natural choice for that sector on
those routes«.
in the recent past the market has also
seen a growing number of lNG bunkering
vessels (lNGBV) being delivered to
operators in Europe and asia. according
to SGMF’s lNGBV statistics, there is a
»vertical rise in capacity«. »Many of these
vessels are not solely for bunkering which
is also significant and helpful,« says Bell.
When the sulphur cap came into force,
energy majors developed VlSFo and
threw it on the market, regulations distribution
and customers were already in
place and were not really involved. Now,
collaboration between the different actors
are becoming critical for driving the uptake
of lNG as a marine fuel and to take
on the Co2 challenge. »Collaboration is
key and there needs to be far more of it if
shipping is to meet this enormous challenge«,
says Mark Bell. in his view, sulphur
was »the distraction for too long
whilst the elephant if not the growing
herd in the room was the carbon« which
now demands attention.
»lNG is currently and in my opinion
the only compliant choice available
now and in the foreseeable future that
can provide a large proportion of the
reductions being demanded. it cannot
however provide all of it, but currently
neither can anything else beyond lNG,«
he adds. Waiting for »horizon fuels« and
ignoring lNG will, in his view, ensure
that the maritime industry fails to meet
emissions targets. »lNG is a fossil fuel
but methane itself is not, provision of
everything around the use of lNG significantly
paves the way for Bio and synthetic
versions but also gas and in particular
cryogenic know how for other
gaseous fuels,« he says.
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HaNSa – international Maritime Journal 01 | 2021
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