Shipping Industry Increasingly Turning to LNG to Meet Clean Fuel Rules
http://gcaptain.com/shipping-industry-increasingly-turning-to-lng-to-meet-clean-fuel-rules/June 28, 2018
With new global emissions standards looming, the marine shipping industry is increasingly looking at liquefied natural gas as alternative to high-sulfur bunker fuel, shipping and energy executives said at a global gas summit this week.
Already used to fuel ferry fleets and cruise ships, LNG is gaining traction among freight and cargo shippers, despite a reluctance by the entrenched industry to make major changes. The stakes are high: the global shipping fleet now consumes about 4 million barrels per day of high sulfur fuel oil.
“Ship owners are very conservative, they’re generally a little slower to act… But it’s going to happen,†Peter Keller, chairman of SEA\LNG and executive VP of maritime firm Tote Inc, told Reuters at the World Gas Conference in Washington.
“Every year the percentage of LNG powered ships out of the new-build market is increasing.â€
LNG bunker demand from the shipping sector is expected to be between 20 to 30 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) by 2030, up from less than 1 Mtpa today, according to forecasters.
Driving the shift are new rules from the International Maritime Organization that cut the allowed sulfur content in marine fuel to 0.5 percent from 3.5 percent by January 2020. LNG is virtually sulfur free....
