GLOBAL: Methanol continues to gain ground in alternative

The order tally for methanol fuelled vessels in July was 48, beating LNG-fuelled ship orders for the third month in a row, according to DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform.

In another record month for methanol, the order total included 15 retrofits.

Orders for LNG-fuelled ships continue ‘at a steady pace’, said DNV, with a total of 14 new vessels ordered last month. The class society also highlighted that July’s orders brought the number of confirmed LNG-fuelled crude oil tankers past the 100 mark, 65 of which are already in operation.

Martin Wold, Principal Consultant in DNV’s Maritime Advisory business, commented: ‘Beating last month's record by a solid margin, orders for methanol-powered vessels have now jumped past the 200 mark.

‘The significant number of new confirmed orders and retrofits for methanol coincides with the delivery of the world’s first methanol fuelled container vessel and the signing of the first bunker supply agreement for green methanol for ships.’

According to AFI figures, as of July orders for methanol-fuelled vessels totalled 204, with 27 in operation and 177 on order. Containerships lead the pack in terms of vessel segment numbers, with 142 methanol-fuelled vessels on order. However, in the tanker segment there are already 23 vessels in operation, with 14 on order.

To date, there are 949 confirmed orders for LNG-fuelled ships, with 420 of these already in operation.

There are also 1,119 vessels with batteries installed, of which 800 are currently in operation.