Last year, significantly more ships with alternative drive systems were ordered than before. According to DNV, LNG dominates as a fuel option.
According to the latest data from DNV‘s Alternative Fuels Insights (AFI) platform, the exceptional newbuilding year 2024 in the shipping industry has led to a significant increase in orders for ships with alternative propulsion systems. A total of 515 such ships were ordered, an increase of 38% compared to the previous year 2023.
The newbuilding boom was driven by orders for container ships and car carriers, which accounted for almost two-thirds of all orders (62%). In the case of box carriers, more than two-thirds of all newbuilds (69%) were ordered with alternative propulsion systems. Of these, 67% were powered by LNG.
“Technological change is underway, but the supply of alternative fuels is still low. As an industry, we need to work with fuel suppliers and other stakeholders to ensure that shipping has access to its share of alternative fuels in the future,” said Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO Maritime at DNV.
In addition to the 264 LNG options, there were 166 orders for methanol ships (32% of the order backlog). These included 85 container ships. Ammonia, on the other hand, was only chosen for 27 newbuildings.
The number of LNG-powered ships already in service doubled between 2021 and 2024. At the end of 2024, 641 such units were in operation. According to the AFI order book, this number is expected to double again by the end of the decade. At the same time, the number of LNG bunker ships also increased from 52 to 64 last year.
“In the long term, green methanol has the potential to become part of the energy mix together with ammonia. At the same time, LNG remains an important option for the transition,” says Jason Stefanatos, Global Decarbonization Director at DNV.
