Classification society DNV says orders for LNG-powered ships hit a new record high in June following 31 orders in April.
Owners placed in total 33 orders for LNG-powered ships last month, two more compared to April when they logged a record as well, according to DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight platform.
That brings the year-to-date order count to 128 ships, Martin Wold, principal consultant at DNV, said.
The growth is mainly driven by LNG-powered car carriers but DNV has recorded a significant/stable uptake across containers, tankers and bulkers as well, according to Wold.
The June orders include NYK’s twelve LNG-powered PCTCs but also orders by Eastern Pacific Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd, Fairfield Chemical, and Tor Olav Troim’s Himalaya Shipping.
Moreover, the DNV platform shows that 210 LNG-powered ships are already in operation with 332 on order.
LNG-powered car and passenger ferries lead the way with 44 in operation, followed by 26 offshore supply ships, and 25 oil/chemical tankers.
As per vessels on order, LNG-powered containerships and crude oil tankers account for most of the orders with 63 and 57 units, respectively.
These statistics do not include smaller inland vessels such as GNG Ocean’s 50 LNG-powered bulkers that will work on the Pearl River in China’s Guangdong province.