Alternative-Fuel Ship Orders Rise 57% as Port Fuel Access Lags

Shipowners are ordering alternative-fuel vessels faster than ports are building the supply networks to serve them. DNV counted 364 such orders worldwide from January through October 2026, up 57% from the same period in 2025. LNG accounts for most of the new orders, while Lloyd’s Register data show a much smaller port network for methanol and ammonia.

The gap matters when operators choose vessels for particular trades. A ship’s fuel system shapes which ports it can call at and where it can refuel. For owners weighing a newbuilding, access along the vessel’s intended routes is therefore part of the operating picture, alongside the fuel technology itself.

October orders were led by LNG vessels

Shipowners placed 53 orders for alternative-fuel vessels in October. Thirty were for LNG-fueled vessels, 19 were LPG carriers, and four were car carriers designed to operate on ammonia fuel.

Across the first 10 months of 2026, LNG-fueled vessels accounted for 230 of the 364 alternative-fuel orders, according to DNV. The figures show that the increase in orders is concentrated in a fuel with an established supply network, even as interest extends to other options.

Container ships and car carriers made up most of the LNG newbuilding activity. Since the start of the year, orders included 134 LNG-fueled container ships and 75 LNG-fueled car carriers. Together, those vessel types represented about 91% of LNG-fueled vessel orders.

Jason Stefanatos, DNV’s maritime global decarbonization director, said demand for LNG-fueled vessels is particularly concentrated in container shipping and car transportation. He pointed to LNG’s more developed supply infrastructure and supply chain as advantages for shipowners compared with other alternative fuels.

That existing network can make LNG a more practical choice for routes where operators need dependable access to fuel. The order mix suggests that vessel demand is following the infrastructure already available, especially in container and vehicle transport. It does not, by itself, establish how frequently the ordered ships will use LNG or what fuels individual operators will select across their fleets.

Methanol and ammonia access is limited

Lloyd’s Register’s report, “Fuel for Thought: Ports,” counted 222 ports worldwide capable of supplying LNG. The corresponding figure for methanol was 25 ports. The report also noted that the first commercial ammonia fuel supply operation took place at Ulsan Port in South Korea in April 2026.

The limited port coverage sits alongside a sizable order book for vessels designed to use fuels beyond LNG. The report counted 385 methanol-capable vessels and 45 ammonia-capable vessels in the order book, while saying supply infrastructure for those ships had not yet become sufficiently widespread.

Kamran Ul Haq, Lloyd’s Register’s senior vice president of port consultancy, said the alternative-fuel fleet is growing faster than port infrastructure. He advised shipowners placing orders to assess whether their chosen fuel will be available at the ports where their ships are expected to operate.

For fleet and route planners, that assessment connects a newbuilding decision to port calls and refueling arrangements. A vessel can be built to use a particular fuel, but access depends on whether suitable supply is available along its operating routes. Where supply points are sparse, the route plan and fuel choice need to be considered together.

Port investment follows route demand

Lloyd’s Register’s report does not call for ports to build supply facilities for every alternative fuel at once. Instead, it says investment planning should reflect expected demand, shipping routes, safety requirements and the availability of fuel. That approach ties infrastructure decisions to likely use rather than treating every fuel as an equal near-term requirement at every port.

Ports and vessel operators face different planning questions. Ports must weigh which fuels are likely to draw demand on the routes they serve and whether supplies can be secured. Shipowners need to consider fuel access at the ports their vessels will call at. The two sides’ decisions are linked: a thin supply network can limit the practical use of a vessel’s fuel capability, while expected vessel demand can shape port investment.

The data point to an uneven pace across the maritime fuel transition. Alternative-fuel vessel orders rose sharply in the first 10 months of 2026, but the figures do not show an equally broad supply footprint for every fuel. LNG has the widest port access among the fuels cited in the report; methanol access remains far narrower, and commercial ammonia supply has only recently begun.

For shippers and vessel planners, the immediate takeaway is to match fuel choices with route-level access. The next measures to watch are whether port supply networks expand beyond LNG and whether infrastructure planning aligns with the ships now entering the order book.

Source: SeaNews Türkiye