Shipowners are beginning to embrace alternative fuels for cargo ship, according to the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO). The  shipping association says 1% of ocean-going cargo ships currently prepared to burn alternative fuels make up 2% of the international fleet’s deadweight capacity, with another 1% of ships and 4% of deadweight capacity readied for alternative fuels so they can more easily be retrofitted. 

The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) goal is that near-zero greenhouse gas emission fuels shall represent at least 5% of the energy used by shipping in 2030, while striving to hit 10%.

However, 29% of the ships and 42% of the deadweight capacity in the order book are expected to be delivered prepared or readied for alternative fuels. Even if no existing ships are recycled, 4% of the fleet’s deadweight capacity will be prepared to burn alternative fuels once all the ships in the order book have been delivered in 2028. And another 4% will be readied for retrofit, BIMCO says.

Once the order book is delivered, at least 23% of the container fleet’s deadweight capacity will be readied or prepared for alternative fuels. The tanker fleet will reach at least 7% while the bulker fleet will reach at least 4%.

“The IMO targets for the use of zero or near-zero fuels in 2030 can be met using sustainable biofuels,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO. “Many different sectors will compete for those fuels, so shipping is focusing on transitioning to alternative green and blue fuels. Today, fuel availability is low.”

Rasmussen says that, so far, LNG has been shipping’s most popular alternative fuel, with methanol and ammonia gaining in popularity. “Whether enough blue and green fuels will be available for shipping in 2030 has remained a question, but with COP-28’s call for a tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030, it now appears more likely that sufficient green and blue fuels can be produced to allow shipping to meet the 2030 targets – even without biofuels,” Rasmussen says.