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T&E investigation uncovers ‘significant amounts’ of methane slip from DF LNG ships

About 80% of LNG burned today in shipping is in engines (low-pressure 4-Stroke) that have worse total GHG emissions than traditional engines running on dirty fuel oil.

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CMA CGM infrared methane 1

European clean transport NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) on Wednesday (13 April) said its investigation into ‘green’ liquid natural gas (LNG) ships has uncovered significant amounts of invisible methane being released into the atmosphere.

On a crisp Monday morning in the port of Rotterdam, the Ecodelta, a dredger boat, gets to work scraping the seabed, clearing the way for the gigantic cargo ships that pass through one of the world’s busiest ports.

The Ecodelta is part of a new trend for supposedly clean gas-powered ships. The names contain words like ‘eco’ and they are often painted green. But their green credentials end there.

Shipping is a huge source of carbon emissions and the switch to clean fuels is slow. Traditional marine (bunker) oil is the dirtiest fuel there is and shipping is responsible for roughly the same amount of global emissions as flying.

The shipping industry alongside oil and gas companies, and many European politicians are pushing for liquified natural gas (LNG) as a ‘clean’ alternative to traditional fuels.

On paper, LNG-powered ships emit less. There is no dark smog. But, invisible to the naked eye, they possess a dirty secret: methane. In fact, roughly 80% of Europe’s LNG used by ships today are worse for the climate than the fuels they replace, due to the release of this potent gas which is over 80 times more warming than carbon dioxide. 

A major problem is that across the gas supply chain, uncombusted methane leaks and slips into the atmosphere and it is warming the planet faster.

In a first investigation of its kind, T&E with support from hydrocarbons experts set out for sea to investigate methane slips from ships. 

The investigation revealed significant amounts of unburned methane being released into the atmosphere with alarming repercussions for the climate.

Eco delta PR image 1

These images show heat and gas emissions from the exhaust stack of ship engines. The bright light near the exhaust stack indicates a heat source. As the plume moves away from the heated exhaust stack, we are able to observe uncombusted hydrocarbon emissions.

Finding the invisible

T&E carried out the investigation on a clear November day at the port of Rotterdam – Europe’s largest.

Using a state of the art infrared camera with a special filter to detect hydrocarbon gases, the T&E team set out on a boat to track down known LNG ships in the area. 

According to an independent peer review of the images carried out by TCHD Consulting, an optical gas imaging consultancy, the images from the Ecodelta and a giant container ship from the French-based CMA CGM the Louvre are evidence that intense uncombusted hydrocarbon emissions were being released into the atmosphere.

While the bright red flames indicate the heat source, the plumes that trail off into the background are evidence of uncombusted hydrocarbon emissions. Though combustion of hydrocarbon gases may result in differing components, LNG typically contains over 90% methane. Therefore, hydrocarbon emissions seen in this investigation are primarily composed of methane. 

According to CMA CGM, its LNG ships enable a significant reduction in CO2 emissions per container,and the company is investing heavily in LNG. Its website claims, “LNG is the best solution currently available to reduce the environmental impact of shipping.” 

There is no mention in any of its communication of methane, or how much methane typically slips from its vessels. Either the company is guilty of blatant greenwashing, or, more worryingly, is unaware of the climate damage it is causing.

CMA CGM includes LNG on its website under ‘environmental services’ with statements like, “have a positive impact on public health and the environment with CLEANER ENERGY LNG”. There is no mention anywhere of methane emissions.

CMA CGM greenwashing

CMA CGM includes LNG on its website under ‘environmental services’ with statements like, “have a positive impact on public health and the environment with CLEANER ENERGY LNG”. There is no mention anywhere of methane emissions.

Europe’s dirty secret at sea: How the EU is promoting LNG

Shipowners commissioned more gas-fuelled vessels in 2021 than the four previous years combined, with LNG-powered ships promoted as a clean alternative to traditional fuels. 

Last year, the EU proposed carbon intensity targets for marine fuels which would force shipowners to move away from residual fuel oil, the most widely used shipping fuel today.

However, T&E has warned that without sustainability safeguards this will simply lock in LNG as the cheapest alternative. Recent T&E analysis shows that over two-thirds of new ships could be powered with LNG from 2025. This would raise the share of fossil LNG from an estimated 6% today to over one-fifth of all marine fuels in Europe by 2030, locking in fossil fuel use for decades.

Clean alternatives exist

LNG is a fossil fuel. It is not the solution to clean up one of the world’s dirtiest sectors. The immediate threat of climate change means we cannot put more warming gases into the atmosphere. 

To avoid this, the EU must adopt stricter greenhouse gas reduction targets for all ships arriving and departing from European ports, so that the sector achieves zero-emissions by 2050 at the latest.

Clean fuels do exist. Green hydrogen-based fuels can massively reduce shipping’s climate impact, but currently they are expensive. If policymakers set mandatory targets and incentives for these fuels now, it would stimulate supply and demand, and make them widely available at much lower costs. 

Fossil gas has no role to play in the future of green shipping. Europe must end its dirty secret at sea, now.

What is natural gas?

Natural gas/methane/LNG is a fossil fuel that is extracted from underground. It is mostly made of methane molecules, which create CO2 when fully combusted. Methane is far more potent than carbon dioxide but it stays in the atmosphere for a much shorter time. Methane is therefore 29.8 times more warming than CO2 over 100 years and 82.5 times more warming over 20 years, according to the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report. 

Natural gas is “gaseous” under normal temperature and atmospheric pressure. To make its transportation and storage easier, it is often liquified under freezing temperatures, which creates liquified natural gas (LNG). Natural gas is used by many sectors, including by households for heating in boilers and cooking in kitchens, but also by power plants to produce electricity. Increasingly it is being used for shipping.

Why is methane so bad?

Leaks and slips occur throughout the natural gas supply chain. The use of LNG as a maritime fuel is particularly problematic because slips occur from ship engines. According to data from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), depending on the engine between 0.2% to over 3% of fossil gas slips from the combustion process and is released directly to the atmosphere. 

For this reason, about 80% of LNG that is burned today in shipping is in engines (low-pressure 4-Stroke) that have worse total greenhouse gas emissions than traditional engines running on dirty fuel oil. This is an estimation based on the fuel consumed by LNG-powered ships from the European data reporting system MRV, and fleet characteristics from shipowners’ order books.

Related: T&E: FuelEU Maritime policy lacks predictability for deployment of green e-fuels
Related: T&E: EU push to green shipping is positive but risks locking in fossil gas
Related: T&E: Still time to rectify ‘disastrous’ EU shipping policy
Related: LEAKED: EU’s supposedly ‘green’ shipping law will lock in fossil fuels, says T&E
Related: T&E: First gas-powered cruise ship is not ‘sustainable tourism’
Related: T&E: Batteries, hydrogen, ammonia answer for decarbonising shipping
Related: T&E: LNG marine fuel ‘as bad as’ traditional bunkers
Related: LNG marine fuel ‘an expensive distraction’, says T&E study
Related: T&E: ‘Time to dump the obsession with LNG’

 

Photo credit: Transport & Environment
Published: 14 April, 2022

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Milestone

China: Chimbusco and BJEC enter green methanol cooperation agreement

Document was signed between Ding Lihai, deputy general manager of Chimbusco, and Li Jianjun, deputy general manager of BJEC.

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Chimbusco x BJEC MT

China Marine Bunker (PetroChina) Co.,Ltd. (Chimbusco) and POWERCHINA Beijing Engineering Corporation Limited (BJEC) on Thursday (3 July) formally entered into a green methanol strategic cooperation framework agreement.

The document was signed between Ding Lihai, deputy general manager of Chimbusco, and Li Jianjun, deputy general manager of BJEC.

BJEC, a subsidiary of China Power Engineering Group, is experienced in the survey, design, construction and technology research and development of large-scale renewable energy projects.

Moving forward, the two parties said they will respectively focus on their core advantages and work together to promote the production, supply, storage and refuelling of green methanol as an energy source to help support the low-carbon transformation of the shipping industry.

Ding Lihai said: “The shipping industry is one of the important sources of global carbon emissions. Promoting low-carbon fuel is the key to the transformation of the industry. As the main force in the supply of bunker fuel, Chimbusco has been committed to expanding its clean fuel supply capacity. The cooperation with BJEC will integrate the advantages of green energy development and fuel supply, accelerate the large-scale application of green methanol, and meet the needs of shipping companies for clean fuel. We look forward to providing effective solutions for the green transformation of the shipping industry through the joint efforts of both parties.”

Li Jianjun said: “Implementing the ‘dual carbon’ goal is an important responsibility of enterprises. BJEC has accumulated strong technical strength in the field of green energy. This cooperation with Chimbusco will focus on the entire industrial chain of green methanol, from raw materials, production to supply, to provide clean and sustainable fuel solutions for the shipping industry. The complementary advantages of both parties will promote the rapid development of the green methanol industry and inject strong impetus into the low-carbon transformation of the shipping industry.”

 

Photo credit: China Marine Bunker (PetroChina) Co.,Ltd.
Published: 8 July 2025

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Milestone

Towngas and Royal Vopak collaborate to expand green methanol supply chain network

‘Towngas has recently completed a 6,000-tonne green methanol bunkering project, the largest in Asia,” said its Chief Operating Officer – Green Fuel and Chemicals.

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Towngas x Royal Vopak MT

Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) and Vopak China Management Co., Ltd. (Royal Vopak) on Tuesday (8 July) said both recently signed a strategic framework cooperation agreement to collaborate in areas such as green methanol production, storage, bunkering, and trading etc.

Focusing on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Asia-Pacific markets, both parties are joining forces to expand an efficient green methanol supply chain network and support the shipping industry’s low-carbon transition.

The two parties will capitalise on their respective strengths to expand the supply network of green methanol.

Towngas employs proprietary technology to convert agricultural and forestry waste as well as scrap tyres into green methanol, and has obtained multiple international certifications and provides a sufficient supply of green methanol for maritime fuel bunkering.

Royal Vopak provides green methanol storage and terminal services with its comprehensive storage and terminal infrastructure and coastal port network advantages.

Together, the two parties will achieve efficient resource allocation and ship green methanol to the Greater Bay Area, East China, South China, and the broader Asia-Pacific markets, further expanding the green methanol supply chain network.

Towngas and Royal Vopak will further develop multiple areas of regional cooperation, including in the Greater Bay Area. By leveraging the strengths of the ports in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, the partnership will focus on “production and storage synergy” as its core to strengthen cooperation around logistics and terminal facility construction, and to build an integrated green methanol storage and transportation network.

In East China, the two parties will centre their collaboration in Shanghai and Ningbo, two major international ports, to further strengthen cooperation in logistics storage and bunkering facility construction to meet the growing demand for green fuels at both ports.

In the Bohai Bay region, with Tianjin as the strategic hub, Towngas will transport green methanol produced at its northern China production base to Royal Vopak’s local storage tank farm, then achieve resource allocation through the Royal Vopak’s distribution network, supporting the supply of green methanol from northern China to the national and Asia-Pacific markets.

The two parties will also target key export markets, such as Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, and South Korea, to accelerate overseas expansion and boost the market competitiveness of clean energy in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Towngas has recently completed a 6,000-tonne green methanol bunkering project, the largest in Asia,” said Sham Man-fai, Towngas Chief Operating Officer – Green Fuel and Chemicals.

“It was completed with the support of Royal Vopak’s Tianjin storage tank farm facilities, laying a solid foundation for this partnership.

“Towngas’s Inner Mongolia green methanol plant is set to increase its annual capacity from 100,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes by the end of this year, with plans to further expand to 300,000 tonnes by 2028. Together with Royal Vopak’s storage and terminal services infrastructure and coastal port network, the two parties will build a comprehensive green methanol supply chain network.”

 

Photo credit: Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited
Published: 8 July 2025

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Port & Regulatory

China sees rapid growth in new-energy, clean-energy vessels for domestic market

Country has over 600 LNG vessels, primarily used for inland cargo transport, and 485 battery-powered electric vessels, mostly serving as passenger ferries.

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Vice Transport Minister Fu Xuyin MT

China is accelerating its shift to use greener bunker fuels in inland water transport, with more than 1,000 vessels powered by new energy or clean energy now operating nationwide, according to the Ministry of Transport.

As of the end of 2024, the country had over 600 liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels, primarily used for inland cargo transport, and 485 battery-powered electric vessels, mostly serving as passenger ferries, Vice Transport Minister Fu Xuyin told a press conference on 27 June.

A smaller number of inland vessels powered by methanol or hydrogen fuel cells are also in use, Fu added.

China’s electric vessel industry has developed rapidly in recent years, leading globally in both scale and technological advancement, he said.

Alongside upgrading vessels, China is accelerating efforts to develop green, low-carbon ports, and this includes expanding and renovating inland port terminals with a focus on sustainability, Fu noted.

China is also developing near-zero-carbon inland terminals, encouraging the use of wind and solar power at ports, promoting the use of new energy and clean energy in port machinery and on-site transport vehicles, and prioritizing rail and new-energy trucks for bulk cargo handling, he added.

 

Photo credit: Xu Xiang/China State Council Information Office
Published: 8 July 2025

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