30 articles, page 2 of 2
LNG dual-fuel propulsion took 63% of the alternative-fuel ship orders registered in 2026 through August and 188 of the 275 orders placed in 2025, because LNG is the cheapest route through EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime. The decisive technical question is now methane slip, where high-pressure two-strokes are guaranteed at 0.2-0.28 g/kWh while independent campaigns measured 6.4% on low-pressure four-strokes.
Methanol-fuelled ships built the second-largest alternative-fuel orderbook, 313 vessels cumulative against 663 for LNG, yet new ordering nearly stopped in 2026 with only two to four methanol newbuild orders in the first half. Deliveries continue at 59 in 2025 and 38 in H1 2026, so the binding constraint is green methanol supply and price rather than engine technology.
Ammonia-fuelled ships moved from demonstrators to commercial service in 2026 when Exmar's 46,000 m3 LPG/ammonia carrier Antwerpen was delivered with a WinGD X52DF-A engine. Two-stroke tests show N2O below 3-5 ppm at about 5% pilot fuel, but the orderbook is tiny, the IMO safety framework is interim and green ammonia costs USD 600-1,000/t.
Marine biofuels are the fastest-growing compliance fuel by volume: Singapore sold 1.36-1.38 Mt of bio-blends in 2025, up more than 54%, and Rotterdam sold 201,000 t of bio-bunkers in Q3 2025 alone. LPG dual-fuel remains a gas-carrier niche built on the Everllence ME-LGIP, with LPG and ethane-fuelled orders jumping to 55 in H1 2026 from 15 a year earlier.
Shipping decarbonisation regulation now runs on two clocks: EU ETS reached 100% allowance surrender for 2026 emissions and FuelEU Maritime completed its first verification cycle in H1 2026, while the IMO Net-Zero Framework awaits an adoption vote on 4 December 2026. That gap explains why 2026 ship orders are LNG-heavy and zero-carbon fuel orders have stalled.
Hull, wind, nuclear and emerging
The large-ship wind-assisted fleet passed 100 vessels in 2026, with IWSA reporting 116 ships in service and around 100 more units on order at SMM in September 2026. Class-assessed results from Bureau Veritas and DNV put annual fuel savings at roughly 5-15% per ship, while peak-voyage figures of 20-37% are not annual averages.
Hull, wind, nuclear and emerging
Air lubrication systems pump air under a ship's flat bottom to cut frictional resistance, and Silverstream alone reports more than 250 orders and over 150 ships running. Vendors claim 5-12% net savings, but the Shell trial and Grimaldi's fleet data point to a realistic 3-7% net on full-form hulls.
Hull, wind, nuclear and emerging
Nuclear ship propulsion is mature for navies and for Russia's Atomflot icebreaker fleet, but commercial cargo shipping remains pre-commercial. The IMO agreed in 2025 to rewrite its 1981 nuclear merchant ship code with adoption targeted around 2030, while HD Hyundai, CSSC and Core Power pursue molten salt and sodium fast reactor designs.
Hull, wind, nuclear and emerging
Hull and propulsion efficiency measures range from engine power limits and slow steaming to bulbous bow and propeller retrofits, premium coatings, hull cleaning and weather routing. Verified data favour bow and propeller packages at 14-18% in model tests, while DNV puts the fleet-wide potential at up to 16% by 2030.
Hull, wind, nuclear and emerging
Among emerging marine propulsion concepts, onboard carbon capture, commercial sail cargo ships, autonomous electric vessels and shore power all have real sea demonstrations from 2023 to 2026. Superconducting and magnetohydrodynamic drives remain at prototype level, with no demonstration found since a Chinese MHD test in 2017.