As global liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports expand, the market demand for LNG carriers increases. By 2034, 240 new LNG carriers are expected to be built to meet the global demand for LNG transportation.
BRS Group pointed out in its latest annual report that LNG demand is expected to grow by an average of 5% per year to 665 million tons by 2034. To meet transportation needs, it is estimated that 241 new LNG carriers will need to be put into operation to meet the expected annual growth rate of global LNG demand.
To build 240 new LNG carriers within 10 years means that an average of 34-35 new vessels need to be ordered each year before 2031. As of January 2025, the global order book for LNG carriers totaled 313 vessels.
BRS said in the report: “As of January 1, 2025, a total of 26 LNG projects are under construction, with an estimated LNG export volume of 191 million tons, which means that 243 174,000 cubic meter LNG carriers will be needed. If another 63 million tons of LNG projects are launched, 90 174,000 cubic meter LNG carriers will be needed, bringing the total number of ships to 333.”
In addition to meeting LNG demand, BRS believes that new vessels will need to be built to replace older ones, and that up to 20 LNG carriers may be scrapped each year.
The prospect of an increase in new orders for LNG carriers to cope with the growth in demand for LNG was first raised five years ago. It is forecast that 315 LNG carriers will be ordered by 2029 as new LNG plants come on stream. This is an increase of 18 vessels compared to five years ago.
In addition, orders for LNG carriers are expected to expand as global LNG demand grows and U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies to expand LNG exports.
According to incomplete statistics, so far this year, only two LNG carrier orders have been announced globally, namely, one 180,000 cubic meter LNG carrier ordered by Denmark’s Celsius Tankers to Samsung Heavy Industries and two 174,000 cubic meter LNG carriers ordered by Hanwha Shipping to Hanwha Marine. No new orders for LNG carriers have been announced by Chinese shipyards this year.
Currently, Chinese shipbuilders that are building large LNG carriers include Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, Jiangnan Shipyard, Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (DSIC), China Merchants Heavy Industry and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. In addition, in January this year, Hengli Heavy Industries and the French GTT company signed a patent agreement on the membrane containment system, becoming the second domestic private shipbuilding enterprises with the ability to build large-scale LNG carriers, but has not yet received orders for the actual ship.