Seatrade Maritime News: High Cost of Retrofit Slows LNG Bunkering Uptake

29 Oct 2015: “The economics of retrofitting ships to burn LNG could be a dampener to the uptake of LNG bunkering, considering the costs and many prerequisites that operators need to meet, according to analyst firm Poten & Partners. “The retrofitting of ships to consume the clean fuel LNG, when feasible, is a sophisticated, complex operation that require modification of existing engines or addition of gas tanks, as well as the major cost of fitting LNG tanks and gas piping systems, said Manon Dumontier, natural gas and LNG consultant at Poten & Partners. She added that safety control systems also need to be upgraded during the retrofitting process. “‘I’m not saying that retrofit is not a good idea, but a number of prerequisites need to be met before the industry can expect changes,’ she told delegates at the Gastech conference held in Singapore on Thursday. “‘We think that oil prices will have to increase, and the industry needs an easier process to duplicate the retrofits on ships,’ she explained. ‘The LNG bunkering industry also needs the shipping industry generally to be in a better market as owners have no deep pockets now.’ “Dumontier outlined that additional costs include the delivery of LNG to the import terminal, breakbulk charges, the need for shuttle vessels delivering to LNG bunker tankers, and the fee of bunker tanker delivering LNG fuel ship-to-ship. “’W should always keep in mind to add in all the additional costs and it [LNG fuel] will not be very cheap,’ she said.”