Weak newbuilding activity behind green fuels’ slow start to 2025
Methanol was the most popular fuel type ordered in March 2025, with LNG in second place with seven orders
Class society says general reluctance to order new ships, rather than a problem specific to alternative fuels, is behind the sluggish start to the year
A TOTAL of 71 orders were placed for alternative-fuelled vessels during the first quarter of 2025, according to data from class society DNV.
That’s a 13% decline on the same period in 2024, but DNV said these figures are against the backdrop of lower newbuilding activity across the maritime industry, rather than a green-specific barrier that could be holding back orders.
Methanol led the way in March 2025 with 12 orders, followed by LNG with seven, LPG with four and ammonia with two.
This represents somewhat of a bounceback for methanol, which had a bad winter in terms of orders. Interestingly, those 12 orders were spread across the bulk carrier, tanker, cruise and car carrier segments.
“The ordering of two ammonia-fuelled vessels from the tanker segment is also notable,” said DNV Maritime global decarbonisation director Jason Stefanatos.
“While ammonia still has some way to go as a marine fuel, foundations are being put in place and progress is being made.”
This latest round of data from DNV shows that 41.6% of global tonnage on order is at least alternative-fuel ready. Methanol accounts for 12% of that share, with LNG still by the far the most popular choice with more than one-quarter of the orderbook.
