More newbuildings were ordered with methanol dual-fuelled propulsion systems in June than for ships that will be able to use LNG as fuel.
According to classification society DNV, 55 vessels with alternative-fuelled propulsion systems were contracted last month.
Of the total, 29 were for methanol dual-fuelled vessels with this figure including retrofits.
The methanol tally also boasted the first tanker orders for this fuel type.
In contrast, there were 26 orders for LNG dual-fuelled vessels with container ships constituting almost half of these.
DNV said that during the first half of this year, 128 vessels have been ordered with alternative fuelling systems with container ships continuing to be the main growth driver of these orders.
June’s new contracts brought the total number of LNG dual-fuelled container ships on order to over 250 vessels.
Container ships made up nearly 80% of the new orders for methanol dual-fuelled vessels, bringing the total count of on-order boxships that can use this fuel past the 100 mark.
DNV maritime advisory business principal consultant Martin Wold said: “June saw the first order for a methanol-driven vessel within the tanker segment that was not a methanol carrier.
“We now have methanol-fuelled ships in the pipeline for most main segments but when excluding methanol carriers, containers make up more than 80% of the entire confirmed fleet of methanol-fuelled ships. Measuring by future fuel demand, that share rises to well over 90%.”
Wold added: “We continue to see a strong pipeline for orders of both LNG and methanol-fuelled vessels.”
