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It is estimated that the global sales of bunker fuels will surpass 350 million tonnes in 2013.
Thats roughly analogous to the metric tonnage of the entire proven oil reserves of Syria,
topping up the worlds marine fleets every year.
In fiscal terms, global spend on bunkering for 2012 was approximately $2.6 billion with the
top 10 bunker ports below controlling more than 35 per cent of total global bunkering
volume.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been used as a transport fuel since the 1930s and the first
shipment of LNG by tanker would cross the Atlantic in 1959. The "boil off" of LNG cargo
would be used as a fuel source for boilers in the first generation LNG tankers to produce
steam for the ships turbines. Half a century later, LNG is beginning to rival traditional fuel
oil as the marine propellant of choice for the worlds domestic and international commercial
fleets.
As of Q4 2013, Norwegian classification society Det Norske Veritas (DNV) stated that there
were currently 83 LNG-fuelled ships in operation or on the drawing board worldwide.
January 2015 will see the entry into force of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)s
stricter sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions requirements in emission control areas (ECAs)
outlined under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
(MARPOL) Annex VI. The 0.1 per cent sulphur limit that will come into force as of 2015 will
directly affect in the region of 40% of the world fleet.
In line with this, growth in LNG-powered vessels is set to skyrocket by more than 3700 per
cent through 2025 (see below) with around 3,200 ships set to be commissioned over the
next 12 years.
This prodigious rise in LNG-based marine traffic will entrain a concomitant rise in the need
for LNG bunker fuelling stations, prompting a 72 million tonnes rise in LNG usage at an
increase of an average of six per cent per annum.
In the same time period, the European Commission (EC) - the executive body of the
European Union (EU) that is responsible for proposing and ratifying legislation - will make
major investments into LNG-fuelling infrastructure to be installed in all 139 major EU
maritime and inland ports.
Although the EU is leading the way with regards to funding and affirmative action in the LNG
bunkering story, positive moves in the rest of the world are changing the tide with regards
to the speed of adoption of LNG as a primary bunker fuel.
Movements in Asia Pacific
The above chart shows the distribution of bunkering demand with regards to geographical
location. As the main bunkering port for the Asia Pacific region, the Maritime and Port
Authority (MPA) of Singapore accounts for almost one fifth of the worlds bunkering
demand and fulfils 38 per cent of the market share of the top 10 bunkering ports combined.
In November 2013, the MPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with two Belgian
ports, Antwerp and Zeebrugge, to work together on research, regulations, and other
frameworks for LNG bunkering.
The announcement follows the commissioning of the island city-states first LNG terminal on
Jurong Island in Q2 2013, at a cost of $1.38 billion USD. Its two trains currently have a
throughput capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per annum and will reach 6 million tonnes per
annum by the end of 2013 on completion of a third train and complimentary plant and
docking facilities.
Competing bunker hubs
MPA is in direct competition with two of its main rivals in the bunkering world to introduce
LNG solutions - the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands and the Port Of Fujairah on the
United Arab Emirate's Indian Ocean coast.