1. LNGin marine propulsion: A Disruption to the Maritime Industry?
Penetration of Gas Fuelled Ships and use of LNG as fuel in the maritime sector
According a new forecast by MEC intelligence nearly 10,000 vesselscould be adopting LNG
propulsion by 2020triggering a huge growth in the market. Companies in all aspects of the maritime
value chain– oil majors, terminals, ports, bunker suppliers, service companies, component producers,
vessel owners and charterers –need torethink their offerings.”
A ground breaking report published by the maritime cleantech market insight firm MEC Intelligence
estimates more than 5% of the world fleet will adopt LNG propulsion by 2020a huge growth
considering less than 100 vessels presently.
Best Option for Newbuilds
Strict environment regulations requiring the reduction of SOx, NOx to 0.1% in ECA zone in 2015 and
0.5% globally in 2020 will stimulate demand for technologies that can eliminate or reduce emissions
from vessel exhausts. The keycompliance options available are either adoption of new types of fuel –
low sulphur MGO or LNG – or using scrubber technology on the existing HFO fuel.
The LNG propulsion technology will potentially gain massive traction in the new build segment owing
to significantly lower operation costs leading to a lower total ownership cost over the ship’s lifecycle.
The total ownership cost over ship’s lifecycle fora new build LNG propelled vessel(depending on
vessel type and geography) is expected to beup to 40%lower as compared to that of a fuel oil and
MGO propelled vessel.
The low cost are attributed to the abundant availability and competitive prices of LNG compared to
crude. Even though, the price of LNG is expected to increase with the pickup in natural gas demand
in power sector it is not likely to be significant considering the new supplies from unconventional gas
reserves.
Further, considering the often more than 25 year long life cycle of vessels, LNG adoption makes the
ship essentially future proof in terms of further regulatory driven emission reductions in SOx, NOx,
and Particulate Matter approaching in the horizon.
Huge Long Term Impact Albeit a Slow Start
Better Economics combined with development ofbuilding capacity,recent advancements in engine
and fuel gas technologies are leading to a pick-up in the interest in LNG propulsion. Although
availability of infrastructure and standardsis a limiting factor, yet, this is expected to be only a short
term inhibitors. An analysis of the existing LNG supply and terminal infrastructure shows ample
availability of the fuel to be able to supply and bunkering infrastructure can be developed rapidly to
meet the growing fleet.
With the development of infrastructure and IMO ratificationsthe fleet is expected to reach up to 1,000
vessels by 2015 but pick up rapidly to grow up to 10 times in the subsequent five years as the
technology, infrastructure, and economics stack equivocally in favour of LNG propulsion. However, in
case infrastructure and regulation are delayed the penetration is estimated to be significant lower yet
still significant.
Unique Opportunity to Differentiate and Shape the Market
The report concludes that the adoption of LNG in vessels will call for changes in all aspects of the
value chain – oil majors, terminals, ports, bunker suppliers, service companies, components
suppliers, owners and charterers – requiring companies to rethink their offerings and align to a new
reality sooner or later. It is one of the unique times when companies can move fast to take advantage

2. of a new technology to differentiatethemselves in the largely ‘commodity’ market for equipment and
services.
About MEC Intelligence
MEC Intelligence is a leading market insight firm focused on growth in the maritime, energy, and
cleantech sectors. The company brings together its unique data assets, deep experience in
supporting strategic and market business development, and broad industry knowledge to develop
objective perspective on industry developments and identify growth opportunities for the entire
maritime, energy, and cleantech ecosystem.
Contact:
Email: reports@mecintelligence.com
Web: http://www.mecintelligence.com/index.php?page=research-reports
Tags: LNG as fuel, LNG ships, Gas fuelled ships, LNG, Propulsion, Fuel, Gas based ships, Maritime
Market Insights, Maritime Analysis