Orders for large LNG-fuelled ships may surface within the next few years as the environmental bar is being raised for the shipping industry, shipping association Bimco said, Seatrade Asia online reports.The prediction has prompted Bimco to question the use of LNG onboard ships. “The green credentials of LNG marine fuel may seem impressive but may not be the whole story, when the true carbon cost of extracting the LNG, liquefying, storing, transporting and making available the gas are all taken into account.
“Its availability will be a serious problem for some time, although it might be expected that distribution networks, tankage, and even floating bunker craft capable of supplying it will be provided to answer any demand,” Bimco said.
Projections of the cost of high-sulphur bunker fuel and LNG show the latter could be cheaper within a few years, but the disadvantages of using LNG cannot be ignored, Bimco pointed out.
The disadvantages include the need to incorporate large pressurised and refrigerated tanks for LNG within the design of the ships, something that is clearly more difficult than accommodating the use of conventional fuel.
As LNG needs to be carried at exceedingly low temperatures, safety remains an important issue in any ship design that will use this fuel.
Despite the limitations, Bimco said LNG is “clearly a practical proposition” as LNG carriers have been using boiled-off gas in their steam turbine plants for years and there are dual fuelled diesels available today.
“Its availability will be a serious problem for some time, although it might be expected that distribution networks, tankage, and even floating bunker craft capable of supplying it will be provided to answer any demand,” Bimco said.
Projections of the cost of high-sulphur bunker fuel and LNG show the latter could be cheaper within a few years, but the disadvantages of using LNG cannot be ignored, Bimco pointed out.
The disadvantages include the need to incorporate large pressurised and refrigerated tanks for LNG within the design of the ships, something that is clearly more difficult than accommodating the use of conventional fuel.
As LNG needs to be carried at exceedingly low temperatures, safety remains an important issue in any ship design that will use this fuel.
Despite the limitations, Bimco said LNG is “clearly a practical proposition” as LNG carriers have been using boiled-off gas in their steam turbine plants for years and there are dual fuelled diesels available today.