LNG sector set to soar

LNG has been used as a transport fuel since the 1930s, but it’s in recent years that it’s beginning to rival traditional fuel oil ad the marine propellant of choice worldwide, IQPC’s latest report reveals.

According to Norway’s Det Norske Veritas (DNV), as of Q4 2013 there were 83 LNG-fuelled ships in operation or on the drawing board worldwide and it is estimated that the global sales of bunker fuels will surpass 350 million tonnes in 2013.

This figure is set to grow even more, as the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) stricter sulphur oxide emissions requirements in emission control areas (ECAs) enter into force in January 2015.

And as the world’s LNG fleet continues to grow, so will the need for LNG bunker fuelling stations, prompting a 72 million tonne rise in LNG usage at an increase of an average 6% per annum to 2025.

Ready to make this available, the European Commission will make major investments into LNG-fuelling infrastructure to be installed in all 139 major EU maritime and inland ports.

Although the EU is leading the way with regards to funding and affirmative action, LNG as a primary bunker fuel is rapidly being adopted in the rest of the world.

As the main bunkering port for the Asia Pacific region, the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore accounts for almost one fifth of the world’s bunkering demand and fulfils 38% of the market share of the top 10 bunkering ports combined.

The report also looks at China as a “superpower of the high seas” and LNG hub competition across the regions.

Read the full report here.