IMO2020: Merchant Navy in rush for LNG engines

Sopuruchi Onwuka, with agency reports

The activation of the new global regulations on high sulfur fuels for international maritime industry is pushing significant demand for liquefied natural gas from shipping companies as the industry slowly navigates from fuel oils.

The rise of LNG-powered vessels in container shipping aligns with the targets of IMO2020 at reducing sulfur in ship fuels for cleaner air; and shippers have explored and adopted new engines and fuels in order to meet the new environmental standards.

Besides, environmental mandates and sulfur footprints, analysts insist that cleaner also come with enhanced profitability and more responsible operations.

Since 2012 when it was trialed in the United States, LNG has progressed as sustainable fuel option for container ships, driving innovation and major shifts in the shipping and bunkering businesses.

Before IMO2020, regulations on cleaner marine fuels were already active in the United States where the Environmental Protection Agency introduced stringent clean-air regulations for local maritime operations.

Also in Europe, big engines like the CMA CGM, a French liner, had taken cleaner position ahead of the IMO 2020 by adopting LNG to fire its large container vessels.            Other European container liners including Germany Hapaglloyd, MSC, and Israel’s ZIM have all made substantial switches to LNG fuels.

In Asia, shipping firms like Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), Pacific International Lines (PIL), and Yang Ming have also queued in with significant orders for LNG vessels.

However, the prevailing industry practice is to maintain a diversified fleet with a mix of solutions, limiting the share of LNG-powered ships within the overall fleet; and many other merchant liners opt for diverse solutions addressing emissions.

Whereas Maersk, ONE and Evergreen pursue alternative fuels like ammonia and methanol; and MSC embraces scrubbers; others like COSCO continue with low-sulfur fuel oil (LSFO).

While the long-term efficacy of LNG as a marine fuel is yet to be determined, it is currently gaining increasing acceptance for regulatory compliance and environmental responsibility.

The increasing adoption of LNG as shipping fuel overrides sustained concerns about its carbon count, high cost, availability, energy density and sustainability.