French LNG containment giant GTT is expecting that there will be more than 450 orders for large LNG carriers over the next ten years, GTT’s chief Philippe Berterottière told LNG Prime on Thursday.
Earlier this year, Berterottière said that GTT was expecting up to 450 orders for large LNG carriers over the 2023-2032 period due to a strong LNG demand outlook and more stringent environmental regulations, which will force owners to replace older tonnage.
The CEO told LNG Prime at the sidelines of DMG’s 23rd World LNG Summit & Awards currently taking place in Athens the company is now expecting “higher figures” for LNG carrier orders.
Berterottière said that the company now expects more than 450 LNG carrier orders but GTT will give a precise update on the number of vessels in February 2024.
GTT received record 162 orders for LNG carriers and one FSRU in 2022.
The LNG carrier orders rose by 138 percent compared to the 68 orders in 2021.
During the first nine months of this year, GTT booked orders for 52 large LNG carriers, one FLNG, and 15 LNG-powered containerships.
“We are now at about 65 orders for LNG carriers up to date,” Berterottière said.
For the next year, GTT expects a “pretty good year” and not “far away from 70 LNG carriers”, he said.
Regarding LNG as fuel, Berterottière said that “companies are discovering that methanol will not be available any time soon and some companies are switching from methanol to LNG.”
“We expect more orders for LNG as fuel in 2024,” he said, adding that GTT is not just targeting containerships but also VLCCs and Suezmax tankers.
Asked about does he see any real competition for GTT in the LNG tank market in the future, he said “competition is existing, and there are many competitors in the market.”
“We are under constant pressure as other companies are trying to improve their solutions. In a certain way I would like to thank our competitors for that because it keeps us all the time awake, imaginative, and innovative,” he said.
“We will keep on improving our solutions and that is the only right thing to do,” he added.
