(LONDON) — Clarksons Research reported on Friday that alternative fuel vessels represented 50 percent of all tonnage ordered globally in 2024, which it called “a record level of investment.”
The data for the year is included in Clarksons’ latest Green Technology Tracker, charting the progress of alternative fuel uptake and investments in energy-saving technologies across the global shipping fleet.
There has been a return to LNG dual-fuel technology, accounting for 70 percent of alternative-fuel tonnage ordered (excluding LNG carriers) in 2024, up from 43 percent in 2023, with methanol declining to a 14 percent share from 30 percent, said Steve Gordon, global head of Clarksons Research.
“Overall, we have reported orders for vessels capable of using either LNG (390 orders, 297 excluding LNG carriers), methanol (118 orders), ammonia (25 orders), LPG (72 orders) or hydrogen (12 orders),” he said.
Additionally, orders involving “ready” status have increased to about one-fifth of all orders (452 orders, 21 percent of tonnage ordered). Across the fuel types, ammonia (130 orders) and methanol (320) have been prominent as alternative fuel “ready” choices.
Investments in port infrastructure and the availability of “green” fuels continue to lag, with the Green Technology Tracker detailing 276 ports with LNG bunkering and 275 ports with shore power connection in place or planned, but only 35 ports with methanol bunkering available and planned.
Retrofitting vessels with energy saving technologies (ESTs) remains a crucial part of shipping’s decarbonization pathway, Gordon said.
“Significant (ESTs) have been fitted on over 10,360 ships, accounting for more than 37 percent of fleet tonnage,” he said. “This includes propeller ducts, rudder bulbs, Flettner rotors, wind kites, air lubrication systems and others. Our tracker also includes 37 vessels in the fleet (plus 12 newbuild orders) testing onboard carbon capture technology. And the share of fleet that is fitted with an ‘eco’ engine has risen to over 34 percent.”
– Clarksons Research
