Shipping Steps on the Gas

Cheaper and less polluting, natural gas is increasingly used to power large ships

The fuel is abundant and stable in price. As many as 1000 LNG-powered vessels could be plying the seas by 2020. LNG is stored onboard at -160°C in pressurized tanks. Dual-fuel engines require bunker oil to initiate combustion, but use much less fuel than other systems. Reliquefaction recovers boil-off gas not used by the engines and reconverts it to the liquid state. Ports lacking refueling infrastructure rely on bunker barges. Another option is ship-to-ship bunkering at sea via specially equipped vessels.