Newbuild orders are increasingly new-fuel ready

The 268 orders amount to 22 million GT and USD38 billion and represent 38% of vessels ordered. Of these 94 were orders for LNG carriers, and 226 were for LNG dual-fuel propulsion. There were also five orders for methanol fuelled vessels.

A further 66 orders were for ammonia-ready vessels, 12 were for LNG-ready and three were for hydrogen-ready.

Over 307 ships in the global fleet and 98 on the orderbook are designated LNG-ready, and there are now 115 ammonia-ready and eight hydrogen-ready vessels on order.

Energy saving technologies have been fitted on over 5,300 ships, accounting for 23.6% of fleet tonnage. These technologies include propeller ducts, rudder bulbs, Flettner rotors, wind kites and air lubrication systems.

In 2021, there were 459 vessels ordered with alternative fuel capabilities, up from 211 in 2020 and 46 in 2016.

Clarksons Research predicts that 5% of global fleet capacity will be alternative fuelled by the start of 2023.