LNG’s Place in the New Fuel Future

Tore Longva, Director Decarbonization at DNV, summed up the postponement of the vote on the IMO’s Net Zero Framework, saying: “Well, for sure, it hasn’t brought more certainty to the fuel markets. I think many have waited on making decisions, and they were proven right in waiting, because that's what IMO also decided to do.”

It could take more than a year. “It is highly doubtful that a consensus can be reached next year,” says Martin Kröger, Managing Director of the German Shipowners’ Association (VDR). “A pause can be useful, but it should not turn into stagnation. If the decision continues to be postponed, the process risks coming to a complete standstill.”

Clarksons Research says it expects new vessel order growth to slow and conventional designs to regain favor.

Image courtesy VDR

It is highly doubtful that a consensus can be reached next year.”

- Martin Kröger,
Managing Director of the German Shipowners’ Association (VDR)

Where does that leave LNG? Steve Esau, COO of SEA-LNG, says the role of LNG remains it was before the postponement, the only practical and realistic future fuel available at scale, which reduces both GHG and local air pollution from deep-sea shipping. “The methane decarbonization pathway through liquefied biomethane and e-methane is the most viable and low risk pathway for the global maritime industry, as demonstrated by the rapid growth in the LNG dual-fuel fleet and new build orderbook.”

According to the latest figures from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform, 30 new orders for alternative-fueled vessels were placed in October 2025. Of these, 26 were LNG-fueled vessels. A total of 222 orders for alternative-fueled vessels were placed in the first 10 months of 2025, and 147 (67%) were for LNG. These figures include Hyundai Merchant Marine’s order of 14 new LNG-fueled container ships – a move that comes after the company ordered nine methanol-fueled vessels in 2023.

Image courtesy SEA-LNG

The methane decarbonization pathway through liquefied biomethane and e-methane is the most viable and low risk pathway for the global maritime industry. ”

- Steve Esau,
COO of SEA-LNG

Regulations continue to force emissions reductions, including existing IMO regulations such as CII and regional regulation such as FuelEU. Some owners are already advancing the pathway to bioLNG. WALLENIUS SOL has just transitioned its roro vessels Baltic Enabler and Botnia Enabler from LNG to bioLNG, and Rebecca Tagaeus, Sustainability Officer at WALLENIUS SOL, says the move “shows that renewable fuels are not a distant solution but something we can use here and now.”

Brittany Ferries took part in an independent study carried out by researchers in France that measured funnel emissions from its LNG-powered ship Salamanca over a 12-month period. Methane slip was confirmed to be around 50% less than default values used as a benchmark for European shipping emissions regulations. Christophe Mathieu, CEO Brittany Ferries. “The data now shows that real emissions from our LNG ships are far, far lower than initial fears. This must be woven into regulatory declarations, mindful that these must be the basis of fines we must pay.

Image courtesy DNV

Many have waited on making decisions, and they were proven right in waiting, because that's what IMO also decided to do. ”

- Tore Longva,
COO of SEA-LNG

“This independent research has been peer reviewed and should therefore serve as a solid basis for European and international regulators,” he continued. “Regulators must follow the science and pursue policies that encourage rather than penalize low-carbon maritime technologies,” said Mathieu.

Although the IMO NZF framework vote was postponed, work continues on the regulations that underpin it. These regulations are likely to push for well-to-wake evaluation of fuels, and the LNG pathway from fossil to bioLNG to e-LNG will be a frontrunner in negotiating the consequences of these regulations.

Fuelre4m CEO Rob Mortimer says: “Methane slip has risen 180% since 2016 and methane is over 80 times more potent than CO2. You can’t rebrand physics. LNG ultimately fails the climate test.”

He says the recent IMO delay hasn’t changed LNG’s role; it has exposed it. “LNG was always presented as a ‘transition’ fuel, but that transition has been built more on marketing confidence than measured evidence. Despite years of claims, no accredited, full well-to-wake study has conclusively demonstrated that LNG reduces total emissions compared to high-quality marine fuel oils when measured under equivalent conditions. What we see repeatedly are unequal comparisons: best-case assumptions for LNG (high-efficiency systems, no methane slip, ideal logistics) versus worst-case baselines for fuel oils.

Image courtesy Fuelre4m

Fuelre4m isn’t anti-LNG, anti-ammonia, or anti-change. We’re pro-measurement and transparency, anti-political and commercial lobbying with no demonstrated advantage. ”

- Rob Mortimer,
CEO, Fuelre4m

“Fuelre4m isn’t anti-LNG, anti-ammonia, or anti-change. We’re pro-measurement and transparency, anti political and commercial lobbying with no demonstrated advantage. The only way to achieve genuine decarbonization is by comparing fuels on the same playing field, from production to combustion, and reporting real data rather than hypothetical outcomes. In short: apples to apples, not apples to aspiration.”

The burden of experimentation with new fuels falls almost entirely on shipowners, leaving operators exposed to financial risk. However, engine OEMs are working to support all choices. Today all of Everllence’s engines, for example, are designed with consideration on how they can be retrofited from one fuel to another, with more than 95% of components of the company’s latest engine technology the same regardless of fuel.

And CIMAC has just released the technical guideline “Alternative Fuels Emission Control for Large Combustion Engines” which explores the emission-related implications of transitioning to alternative fuels in large combustion engines. It provides an overview of hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, methane, and synthetic diesel fuels and outlines current and emerging solutions for managing emissions.

Image courtesy EmissionLink

The truth is that we are years away from having the global supply chains, bunkering networks, and safety systems needed to support alternative fuels at scale. ”

- Philippos Ioulianou,
MD, EmissionLink

For Stolt Tankers, LNG currently stands as one of the most viable interim solutions, used by approximately 970 ships globally (projected to exceed 1,500 by 2029). However, LNG adoption heavily depends on consistent trading patterns, bio-LNG access, and the development of fueling infrastructure at key ports. This limits its broader applicability across all shipping segments.

Philippos Ioulianou, Managing Director of emissions compliance company EmissionLink, maintains that shipping’s route to decarbonization has been hindered by over-promised targets and under-delivered infrastructure.

“What should have been a coordinated global effort toward decarbonization has resulted in paralysis at the very moment the industry needs clarity and unity. The truth is that we are years away from having the global supply chains, bunkering networks, and safety systems needed to support alternative fuels at scale.”

As a result, many shipowners are exercising caution, slowing newbuild orders, delaying investment in future fuels, and extending the life of existing tonnage. “That is not reluctance; it is realism,” says Ioulianou.