Friday 18 March 2016

Reduction in Sulfur Emissions owing to Use of LNG to Benefit Global LNG Bunkering Market

The use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel for ships helps in reducing the emissions of sulfur oxide by 90% to 95% compared to conventional petroleum fuels. As a result, a large number of vessel operators and shipping companies are quite attracted towards this alternative and are switching to LNG as a bunker fuel so as to reduce the emission and to comply with the strict mandates regarding sulfur emissions. Several market experts are estimating the regulations against sulfur emissions to get rigid in the near future, leading to a huge gap between conventional fuel and natural gas prices. Encouraged by these factors, the growth of the global LNG bunkering market is expected to be at a fast pace in the next few years across the globe.

According to a research study by Transparency Market Research, in 2013, the global LNG bunkering market was standing at 70 kilo tons and is estimated to be 22,540 kilo tons by the end of 2025 in terms of capacity. The market is projected to register an exponential 63.60% CAGR between 2014 and 2025.

Some of the Major Factors Driving the Global LNG Bunkering Market are:
  • Growing demand for LNG bunkering from coastal and inland ferries and offshore support vessels
  • Compliance with International Maritime Organization norms regarding the use of clean fuels and reduction in sulfur emissions
  • Growing demand for LNG bunkering owing to its comparatively economical price
  • Increasing demand owing to the expansion of ECAs in near future
On the flip side, the absence of LNG fueling infrastructure in key bunkering areas is one of the most prominent factors expected to hamper the growth of the market. In addition, alternative approaches adopted by shipping companies and vessel operators, high investment cost of newly built LNG-fueled ships, and slow adoption rate are some of the other factors that are hampering the growth of the global LNG bunkering market.

Ferries and Offshore Support Vessels Segment to Dominate Global LNG Bunkering Market in Coming Years

The global LNG bunkering market can be categorized on the basis of end use into container vessels, tankers vessels, ferries and offshore support vessels, and bulk and general cargo vessels. Among these segments, ferries and offshore support vessels spend a large part of their voyage time within ECAs, owing to which several shipping companies operating these vessels are slowly switching from their traditional engines to LNG-fuelled vessels. Thus, the ferries and offshore support vessels segment holds the largest share in the global LNG bunkering market. 


Some of the prominent players operating in the global LNG bunkering market are Gazpromneft Marine Bunker LLC, Harvey Gulf International Marine LLC, GDF SUEZ S.A., Royal Dutch Shell plc, Gasnor AS, Korea Gas Corporation, Bomin Linde LNG GmbH & Co. KG, and Skangass AS.

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