Classification society DNV says orders for LNG-powered ships hit a new record high in the second quarter of this year.
Owners placed in total 30 orders for LNG-powered ships last month, according to DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight platform. This follows record 51 ships in April.
This quarter is already the strongest quarter on record for LNG newbuild orders, despite the fact that there is still month to go, Martin Wold, principal consultant at DNV, said.
The previous record was set in the second quarter last year with 79 vessels.
Wold told LNG Prime that the all of the orders in May were for containerships and car carriers.
The May count includes orders by Seaspan, MSC, MOL, SAIC Anji, Atlas Maritime, and others.
In total, owners booked 151 LNG-powered ships in the January-May period this year, mostly for containerships and car carriers.
However, despite a surge in LNG-powered newbuild orders, current bunkering demand is affected by very high LNG prices.
“Although current LNG bunkering activities remain very low, there is some hope on the horizon that activity in the LNG bunker market could return as oil prices continue to stay high,” Wold said.
More than 800 confirmed LNG-powered ships
According to the DNV platform, 295 LNG-powered ships are already in operation, while there are 510 LNG-fueled vessels on order.
Owners also placed orders for 229 LNG-ready vessels.
LNG-powered car and passenger ferries continue to lead the way with 46 in operation. The operational fleet also includes 37 oil/chemical tankers, 35 containerships, and 34 offshore supply ships.
As per vessels on order, LNG-powered containerships account for a big part of the orders with 172 units. Owners also ordered 95 car carriers, 55 crude oil carriers, and 49 bulk carriers.
These statistics do not include smaller inland vessels or dual-fuel LNG carriers.
Besides LNG-powered and LNG-ready vessels, there are 38 bunkering vessels in operation and 18 on order, the platform shows.
