After making 8 LNG PCTC orders, NYK to build 12 more

 Japanese owner NYK has dramatically increased its backing of LNG as a marine fuel, ordering twelve new car carriers to add to the eight it already has on order. This means that by 2028 the conglomerate will have 20 large gas fuelled car carriers in service two years before the IMO’s first greenhouse gas emission milestone. 

NYK is not the only owner continuing to back LNG as a marine fuel despite warnings from scientists and even organisations like the World Bank that it is a dead-end fuel and will only delay the much needed decarbonisation of the shipping industry.

NYK puts its green credentials on LNG, calling it part of its Sailing Green project, although some would argue that this is an example of greenwashing. It is no doubt a point of growing tension as some groups push for further investment into ammonia and hydrogen as marine fuels to speed up their availability.

For its part NYK states that it sees LNG as a transition or bridge fuel, a claim made by LNG advocates such as the lobby group Sea-LNG.

The Japanese shipping giant has not put all its eggs in one basket though. It says it still aims to invest in other zero emissions fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia, though it sees this as being mature from around 2030.

But over the next nine years NYK has no intention of waiting and will begin renewing its fleet to meet the demands of a renewed automotive industry which is itself turning electric. It is also using its LNG story as part of its ESG credentials and part of its push towards the sustainable development goals.