LNG Bunkering

DNV paper: Existing LNG bunkering infrastructure will ease transition to low‑GHG methane

Low-GHG methane, which is chemically identical to LNG but produced with a far smaller climate footprint, can benefit from this existing infrastructure.

Published

3 months ago

April 15, 2026

Admin

DNV paper: Existing LNG bunkering infrastructure will ease transition to low‑GHG methane

A DNV whitepaper, published on Tuesday (14 April), has found that low greenhouse gas (GHG) methane, which is chemically identical to LNG but produced with a far smaller climate footprint, can benefit from LNG’s existing infrastructure.

DNV said demand for low GHG methane (i.e. bio-methane and e-methane) is expected to grow in the coming decades as the expanding LNG‑capable fleet faces increasingly stringent emissions requirements.

But its long-term viability as marine fuel depends on regulatory clarity, closing the supply gap, and securing volumes against competing demand.

“With around 800 LNG‑capable vessels currently in operation, 600 more on order, existing bunkering infrastructure, decades of operational experience, and well-established international safety standards, the fleet is already technically mature,” it said.

Low‑GHG methane is fully compatible with LNG engines and tanks, making it a true drop-in fuel for LNG-capable ships. Existing LNG bunkering infrastructure is also compatible with liquefied low-GHG methane. Over the past five years, this infrastructure has seen significant improvements and now covers all major bunker hubs along key global trade routes.

Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, Interim CEO Maritime at DNV, said: “LNG to low-GHG methane is one viable pathway among several, and its role will vary by segment and trading pattern. As fuel standards and certification systems continue to develop across markets, owners can benefit from evaluating how different options align with their routes, exposure to regulation, and long‑term fleet plans.

“Building flexibility into fuel strategies, supported by strong energy‑efficiency measures, remains essential for managing both operational performance and regulatory costs in the years ahead.”

While the technology is mature, low-GHG methane still has some hurdles to overcome. For example, the lack of a globally harmonized rule set on permitted chain of custody models, such as mass balancing or book‑and‑claim, creates regulatory uncertainty for ship owners and may impact access to low‑GHG methane for shipping.

Fuel cost is another barrier for large scale adoption. Liquefied low-GHG methane bunker prices are currently multiple times the price of fossil LNG in major bunker hubs such as Rotterdam, with prices for liquefied bio-methane and LNG being about 1890 USD/tonnes and 710 USD/tonnes respectively.

These figures reflect current market conditions, as ongoing geopolitical tensions have driven fossil LNG prices sharply upward in recent weeks, underscoring how dynamic these prices are and how quickly the delta between fossil and bio can shift.

Øyvind Sekkesæter, Senior Consultant at DNV and lead author of the white paper, said: “Although low-GHG methane remains more expensive than fossil fuels, GHG related regulatory costs can significantly reduce the effective price gap. In specific cases, such as EU–EU voyages from Rotterdam, liquefied biomethane has been reported as cost competitive with fossil fuel oil once EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime mechanisms are accounted for, but this is not representative of the global picture where the overall cost remains high.”

Low-GHG methane production has the potential to scale significantly, however whether shipping is able to secure this future supply at scale depends on its willingness to pay relative to competing sectors. Regulations such as the EU ETS, FuelEU Maritime, and the IMO NZF could gradually strengthen that willingness by creating a stronger incentive for low-GHG fuel uptake in shipping than in sectors with fewer policy drivers. DNV’s white paper finds that compliance with the FuelEU Maritime alone could generate a demand of around 2–11 million tonnes of low-GHG methane by 2040. Meeting the initially agreed IMO NZF Base target would require significantly larger volumes, with demand potentially reaching 40–95 million tonnes by 2040, depending on emission factors and fleet composition.

Note: DNV’s latest white paper “Methane in Shipping: LNG‑fuelled ships and the switch to low‑GHG methane” can be downloaded here.

Photo credit: DNV
Published: 15 April, 2026

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Alternative Fuels

SEA-LNG: LNG, biomethane bunkering continue to grow despite geopolitical uncertainty

The industry coalition says LNG-fuelled vessels, LNG bunker vessels, and LNG bunkering volumes, as well as biomethane bunkering and production, all continue to grow in 2026.

Published

7 hours ago

July 17, 2026

Admin

SEA-LNG: LNG, biomethane bunkering continue to grow despite geopolitical uncertainty

Industry coalition SEA-LNG on Thursday (16 July) published its 2026 Mid-Year Market Review.

It provides a snapshot of the current market conditions facing the methane pathway, with particular focus on the growth of liquefied biomethane (LBM/bio-LNG). This report comes as SEA-LNG celebrates its tenth anniversary and gains provisional consultative status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

According to analysis of vessel orders from January to June 2026 from SEA-LNG member DNV, LNG dual-fuel orders remain robust at 73 vessels, accounting for almost 90% of the alternatively fuelled order book, when compared with ammonia, hydrogen and methanol. Additionally, there are now 67 LNG bunker vessels in operation, plus 42 more on order.

The LNG order book continues to be dominated by vessels serving liner trades especially container vessels and pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs). This is consistent with recent analysis by the World Shipping Council which shows that LNG remains the preferred fuel for container ship owners, accounting for 58% of total tonnage ordered versus conventional fuels at 36%.

There was also an increase in bunkering volumes and infrastructure. According to analysis by Kpler, global LNG bunker volumes were around 770,000 cubic meters (m3) per month in the period January to May 2026. This represents an increase of about 13% on the same period in 2025 as more LNG fuelled vessels have entered into operation together with favourable LNG and conventional fuel prices.

Liquefied biomethane is bunkered routinely today, and liquefied e-methane is in development. Since the introduction of regulations like FuelEU Maritime, LBM supply and demand have grown significantly. Data from the European Biogas Association show biomethane production capacity reached 8.2 bcm a year by the end of Q2 2026. This represents an additional 1 bcm in a single year, or growth of 17%. The number of operational biogas plants rose from 1,678 to 1,975 plants with €36 billion of allocated capital investment driving the sector.

Steve Esau, SEA-LNG COO, said: “Despite geopolitical and regulatory uncertainties in 2026, the industry is maintaining momentum on the methane decarbonisation pathway. This year’s mid-year review confirms that methane is the practical and realistic solution for shipping decarbonisation.

“This is reflected in the growing numbers of LNG-fuelled vessels, LNG bunker vessels, and LNG bunkering volumes, as well as biomethane bunkering and production growth. As we look ahead, with e-methane also materialising, we are confident in the trajectory of the methane pathway to decarbonisation.”

SEA-LNG is active at the IMO and EU to underline the importance of goal-based and technology-neutral decarbonisation regulations, and ensure a global market for low and net zero fuels. As the methane pathway continues to mature, efforts have shifted from raising awareness to sharing members’ collective expertise on important technical details that will, for example, further reduce global well-to-wake emissions and scale up bio- and e-methane development and deployment.

As part of these efforts, last week SEA-LNG was granted provisional consultative status at the IMO. This status will enable SEA-LNG to engage directly with Members States as it advocates for practical and realistic regulations to help move the maritime industry forward.

Peter Keller, SEA-LNG Chairman, said: “I have been with SEA-LNG since we founded it 10 years ago, and what strikes me is how methane has ramped up from a pathway to a clear runway for shipping decarbonisation. When building the first LNG-powered containership, I didn’t imagine that within ten years over 10% of the global fleet by deadweight could be powered by methane.

“What started as a solution to reduce harmful local emissions has cemented itself as the practical and realistic option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions today and into the future. As I look ahead, the fundamentals are strong, the orderbook is growing, the bunkering infrastructure is expanding at a record pace, and biomethane and e-methane are building on LNG’s foundation. Just as we expected.”

Note: SEA-LNG’s Methane Pathway – 2026 mid-year market review can be viewed here.

Photo credit: SEA-LNG
Published: 17 July, 2026

LNG Bunkering

Baleària ferry completes first LNG bunkering operation in Las Palmas

Company made the first supply of LNG to the “Mercedes Pinto” in its usual berth, located on ramp 4 of the Nelson Mandela dock, in the Port of Las Palmas.

Published

1 day ago

July 16, 2026

Admin

Baleària ferry completes first LNG bunkering operation in Las Palmas

Spanish shipping company Baleària on Tuesday (14 July) said the first LNG bunkering operation of its ferry has completed in the Port of Las Palmas.

On Monday, the company made the first supply of LNG to the Mercedes Pinto in its usual berth, located on ramp 4 of the Nelson Mandela dock, in the Port of Las Palmas, removing the need to change to another berth for the operation.

“The operation carried out normally, after the review of all safety protocols by the Fire Department and the Autoridad Portuaria de Las Palmas,” it said in a social media post.

Photo credit: Baleària
Published: 16 July, 2026

Bunker Fuel

Singapore: Bunker fuel sales up by 1.6% on year in June 2026

4.67 million mt of various marine fuel grades were delivered at the world’s largest bunkering port in June, up from 4.59 million mt recorded during the similar month in 2025.

Published

2 days ago

July 15, 2026

Admin

Sales of marine fuel at Singapore port increased by 1.6% on year in June 2026, according to data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

In total, 4.67 million metric tonnes (mt) (exact 4,669,100 mt) of various marine fuel grades were delivered at the world’s largest bunkering port in June, up from 4.59 million mt (4,594,700 mt) recorded during the similar month in 2025.

Deliveries of marine fuel oil, low sulphur fuel oil, ultra low sulphur fuel oil, marine gas oil and marine diesel oil in June (against on year) recorded respectively 2.03 million mt (+19.4% from 1.70 million mt), 2.20 million mt (-4.8% from 2.31 million mt), zero (-100% from 1,900 mt), 1,900 mt (-57.8% from 4,500 mt) and zero (from zero).

Bunker Jun

Bio-blended variants of marine fuel oil, low sulphur fuel oil, ultra low sulphur fuel oil, marine gas oil and marine diesel oil in June, (against on year) recorded respectively 5,300 mt (-86.3% from 38,800 mt), 30,700 mt (-73.1% from 114,300 mt), zero (from zero), zero (from zero) and zero (from zero). B100 biofuel bunkers, introduced in February last year, recorded 1,500 mt (+50% from 1,000 mt).

LNG and methanol sales were 55,000 mt (-0.72% from 55,400 mt) and zero (from zero) respectively. There were no recorded sales of ammonia for the month and so far since 2025.

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 15 July, 2026