SEA/LNG’s recent study of a newly-built 14,000 TEU vessel operating on an Asia-US West Coast liner route comparing six fuel pricings revealed LNG delivers the best return on a marine fuel investment on a net present value over a 10-year period.
Even more surprising is that the investment scenarios are based upon a route with very little voyage time in emission control areas.
Chairman of SEA/LNG Peter Keller said, “at a time when shipowners and operators deserve factual information with which to analyse options in an informed way, there have been too many unqualified assumptions about the investment case for LNG.”
“While there remain unanswered questions about the choice of prices of marine fuels going into 2020, SEA/LNG will continue its commercially-focused studies to provide authoritative intelligence regarding the investment case for LNG as a marine fuel for shipowners, shipyards, ports and wider stakeholders,” he said.
Not only has LNG shown itself to be a strong investment in the container shipping market but also across a wide range of business climates from strong freight markets with elevated vessel operating speeds to slow, steaming freight markets.
The SEA/LNG study also shows LNG as a greater return on investment provider than competing solutions, including Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS) or scrubbers, across five of the six fuel scenarios analysed.
Also, LNG is a more environmentally-friendly marine fuel, compelling cargo owners to enforce cleaner logistics chains.
Further testing by SEA/LNG will analyse the investment case for different vessel types and more liner trade routes.
