News / PIL opts for 'more viable' LNG dual-fuel to power its new box ships

Chia Yujin Photo: Martina Li

Singapore’s Pacific International Lines (PIL) is opting for LNG dual-fuelling in its newbuildings, as it believes bio-methane will emerge as a viable green fuel.

Chia Yujin, PIL’s head of sustainability, decarbonisation and marine fuels, said at the Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition today that bio-methane could also power LNG dual-fuelled vessels, and thus extend the lifespan of recently ordered vessels well into the 2040s.

The regional carrier, has four 14,000 teu, five 13,000 teu and four 8,200 teu LNG dual-fuelled containerships being built at Jiangnan Shipyard, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, all in China.

The first two 14,000 teu vessels, Kota Eagle and Kota Emerald, are expected to be delivered this year and are likely to be assigned to Far East-South America services.

Mr Chia described LNG as being critical, as a transitional or bridging solution, as the world moves toward decarbonisation by 2050.

He said: “We all acknowledge that bio-methane is the next step forward. It’s unrealistic to try to liquefy bio-methane to transport it, ship it and perform last-mile logistics.

“It’s absolutely critical that the regulators achieve the mass balancing, because bio-methane will allow us to extend LNG dual-fuelled vessels built today, which will be in use until 2050, by a good 10 years. Otherwise, you’ll end up with stranded assets, and the path forward, in terms of other fuels, isn’t quite clear.”

Mr Chia said PIL chose LNG as its fuel of choice as it was the “most available” clean fuel, whereas not enough green methanol is being produced. There is a risk of having unusable fuel tanks if there is inadequate methanol available.

“It’s not unrealistic to expect [LNG bunker] volumes to increase five-fold [in Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering port] from today, because, look at us, we have zero LNG dual-fuelled vessels today. But before the beginning of 2028, we’ll have close to 20, and will need a lot of LNG.

“Going forward, we’re not the only ones building LNG dual-fuelled vessels. We have a very modest newbuilding programme. There are a lot of other players that have ordered many more and. if you consider just that the number of LNG dual-fuelled containerships will double, triple, before 2030, it’s not unreasonable for demand to go up five-fold.”

Singapore sold 110,850 tonnes of LNG bunkers in 2023 and volumes so far this year have already surpassed this figure.