LNG is leading the charge in the alternative bunker fuel market as shipowners look to comply with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction regulations such as FuelEU Maritime, RED III, and EU ETS.
Starting in 2025, shipowners traveling in to, out of and within EU territorial waters were required to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2pc, with steeper targets scheduled in the coming years. LNG is considered one of the most viable alternative marine fuels for shipowners seeking to comply with emission-reduction regulations in the short and medium term, according to market participants and recent bunker data.
The prioritising of LNG as an alternative bunker fuel is justified by ample availability at ports worldwide compared with other alternative bunker fuels, traders said. LNG bunkering infrastructure is available at 222 ports globally, according to industry group SEA-LNG.
In 2025, alternative-fuelled vessel orders dropped by 47pc on the year but LNG-fuelled vessels accounted for 69pc of the orderbook and for 31pc of total gross tonnage, according to Norwegian classification agency DNV.
LNG bunker fuel sales more than doubled in Spain in 2025 from 2024 to above 8.1TWh, and quadrupled compared with 2023, according to the country's gas transport association Gasnam. LNG bunker loadings from terminals operated by Spanish grid operator Enagas also increased in 2025.
LNG sales for bunkering at the port of Antwerp doubled on the year in the third quarter of 2025.
Going a step further
Flexibility and fuel availability are key factors determining future vessel order books, market participants told Argus.
In September, sales of FuelEU Maritime credit surplus to the requirements of LNG-fuelled vessel owners were at a significant premium to Argus' delivered bunker bio-LNG assessments in Europe. As a result, shipowners with surplus compliance were able to monetise these excess credits by selling them to under-compliant peers.
Bio-LNG used in transportation also offers heavy GHG savings that could ensure shipowners comply with the planned International Maritime Organisation (IMO) GHG pricing mechanism. The regulation, if approved in a vote in October, would start in 2028 and requires ships to initially reduce their fuel intensity by a "base target" of 4pc in 2028 against 93.3g CO2e/MJ, the latter representing the average GHG fuel intensity value of international shipping in 2008. This gradually tightens to 30pc by 2035 and defines a "direct compliance target", that starts at 17pc in 2028 and rises to 43pc by 2035.
Using LNG as a bunker fuel may help shipowners to comply with the base target until 2031, but not with the direct compliance target. Using bio-LNG, on the other hand, complies with all GHG emissions reduction targets and generates surplus FuelEU Maritime and IMO credits.
