The Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF) will form its seventh working group in the new year, focusing on the environmental impact of LNG shipping, to apply scientific rigour to issues such as methane slip and measuring and monitoring ships’ emissions.
The working group will compare like with like to measure ship emissions, to deliver more accurate comparisons between the environmental performance of LNG and that of other marine fuels, says SGMF general manager Mark Bell.
The shipping industry lags behind aviation, utilities and other industries in debates around environmental performance and carbon trading. More accurate measurements will help to make shipping more accountable for its emissions, Mr Bell says.
SGMF expects 2017 to accelerate the shift towards LNG as marine fuel, as firmer oil prices make gas more competitive and as the IMO has agreed the earlier, 2020, sulphur cap deadline.
Mr Bell notes that cruise shipowners are leading this shift, Carnival’s orders for seven LNG-fuelled vessels working to persuade other owners to favour engines that use cleaner-burning fuels as they order new ships. Container shipowners may follow next – although the pace of transition will reflect the pace of new ordering, which in turn depends on wider demand trends and economic confidence.
Mr Bell also expects additional orders for LNG bunker-supply tonnage next year. Bomin Linde has just confirmed its order for the sixth such ship, a 7,500m³ newbuilding to be deployed out of the Port of Klaipeda. The number of bunker-supply ships on order could double this year, he says.
Just 0.2 per cent of the global shipping fleet – 80 ships in service – uses LNG as marine fuel. Within seven to 14 years, SGMF expects that percentage to increase to 2 per cent and for LNG to become the marine fuel of choice for newbuildings ordered in the short to medium term.
SGMF presides over six established working groups to date. The six existing groups concentrate on:
- LNG-bunkering procedures
- Safe distances in LNG bunkering
- LNG salvage
- LNG-bunkering competence and training
- LNG bunkering, quality and quantity
- Essential components
SGMF members include industry leaders such as Shell, ExxonMobil, Engie, GTT, Bernhard Schulte Group, Mitsui OSK, NYK Line and the major class societies. The society will publish revised LNG-bunkering guidelines in the new year.
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Source: SGMF
