All of the January contracts were for container ships, according to latest figures from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight, in which statistics exclude LNG carriers. The classification society said that January’s figures are in line with the trend set during the second half of 2024 when LNG appeared to gain ground as an alternative fuel option.

DNV Maritime’s Jason Stefanatos, Global Decarbonisation Director, commented: “Although we have seen fewer orders for alternative-fuelled vessels in January compared to other months, it follows a record-breaking year in 2024, and the overall outlook continues to be encouraging.”

The orderbook continues to be dominated by LNG and Stefanatos noted that container ships lead the alternative fuels league. This, he said, reflected the demands from cargo owners and consumers for more sustainable fuel operation.

However, DNV’s figures reveal that there is a very long transition path ahead. Less than 3.4% of existing cargo ship capacity, measured in gross tons, is built to use alternative fuels, with the lion’s share – 2.7% – equipped to burn LNG. The outlook on the orderbook, however, is markedly different, with almost 17.5% of ships on order (close to 44% in gross tonnage) being built for alternative fuels.LNG is again the prime choice of alternative fuel, with a share of almost 9.5% of ships on order, followed by methanol at about 5%. LPG comes third, at just under 2%, and ammonia and hydrogen each make up about 0.5%.

With the exception of gas tankers, many of which are designed to use LPG as fuel, LNG is the most popular choice of alternative fuel across all ship types. More than 200 car carriers designed to use LNG as fuel are either in operation or on order; about 130 crude tankers; more than a hundred oil/chemical tankers; and about 70 bulk carriers.