Classification society DNV has added 21 LNG-powered ships to its Alternative Fuels Insight platform in August, seven ships more compared to the previous month.
Last month, DNV reported orders for 14 LNG-powered ships and record 48 methanol-powered vessels for July, while in June there were orders for 26 LNG-powered ships, the highest monthly number of vessels this year.
The January-May period of this year has been slow for LNG-powered newbuild orders after a record 2022 with 222 orders.
In January, DNV reported no orders for LNG-powered vessels, while there were 10 LNG dual-fuel ships ordered in February, 8 in March, 10 in April, and 7 in May.
Martin Wold, principal consultant in DNV’s maritime advisory business, said that August was the second strongest month for LNG-powered vessel orders in more than a year.
“After a record month for methanol orders in July, our net count for methanol stood still in August,” he said.
“There were in fact a couple of firm orders but we also removed some ships which turned out to be methanol-ready only,” Wold said.
431 LNG-powered ships in operation
DNV’s platform shows that there are now 431 LNG-powered ships in operation, while owners placed orders for 539 LNG-fueled vessels.
LNG-powered crude oil tankers lead the way with 68 in operation, followed by 58 containerships, 48 oil/chemical tankers, and 43 car and passenger ferries.
As per vessels on order, LNG-powered containerships account for a big part of the orders with 206 units. Shipping firms also ordered 136 car carriers, 46 oil and chemical tankers, 39 crude oil tankers, and 37 bulk carriers.
These statistics do not include smaller inland vessels or dual-fuel LNG carriers.
47 LNG bunkering vessels and 195 LPG-powered ships
Besides LNG-powered vessels, there are 47 LNG bunkering vessels in operation and 18 on order, the platform shows.
In addition to 970 confirmed LNG-powered ships, the fleet powered by alternative fuels also includes 204 methanol-fueled vessels, 195 LPG-powered ships, and 27 hydrogen-fueled vessels, according to the platform.