Knutsen Group expands LNG carrier fleet

Norwegian shipping company Knutsen Group has taken delivery of a new 174,000 cbm LNG carrier from South Korean shipbuilders Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.

PHOTO: Crew onboard Knutsen Group’s new LNG carrier Ferrol Knutsen. Knutsen Group

The LNG carrier, Ferrol Knutsen, is the fifth vessel in a series of nine to be chartered by oil supermajor Shell.

Following this delivery, Knutsen's LNG carrier fleet stands at 21 vessels, and a further 21 newbuilds are on order.

Demand for LNG has been gaining more and more traction as a way to transport and store natural gas for consumption across industries. Global LNG trade has been growing year-on-year, with imports most recently rising from 387 million mt in 2021 to 409 million mt in 2022.

While LNG bunker demand only makes up around 100th of global LNG trade, it was projected to grow to 3 million mt last year, 4.6 million mt this year and 5.2 million mt next year, according to a year-old Shell outlook.

In the maritime industry, LNG was the preferred choice for alternatively fuelled vessel orders for a second consecutive year in 2022, according to DNV data. New orders may have slowed some as a result of surging natural gas prices after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, but kept ticking throughout the year nonetheless.

222 LNG-fuelled ship orders were recorded by DNV in 2022, making up 81% of all alternatively fuelled ships ordered last year.

LNG carriers will play a key role in transporting LNG to ports to meet both bunker demand, and the proportionally much greater demand from other sectors.

By Tuhin Roy

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