LNG innovation meets bunkering demand gap
Date: 28.11.25
Despite a significant increase in the uptake of LNG in the post-COVID era, the maritime industry still faces substantial challenges ensuring regulation and infrastructure are ready to support further growth in LNG as a marine fuel. Fuelling Editor Malcolm Ramsay explores further.
As LNG volumes in shipping have grown in recent years, the complexity of scaling up bunkering operations has also increased. To address this, technology firms are now developing a range of solutions aimed at streamlining LNG infrastructure and boosting efficiency.
"The marine industry has made major strides in adopting LNG as a fuel, with a growing fleet of LNG-powered vessels and expanded bunkering capabilities. However, wider uptake still faces a few key barriers,” Andrew Stafford, Technical Director at Trelleborg Marine and Infrastructure, tells LNG Journal. “Infrastructure readiness remains uneven, especially across global routes. While LNG bunkering is now routine in some major ports, many regions lack consistent access to high-capacity, reliable fuelling infrastructure.” This lack of high-capacity bunkering infrastructure remains one of the major bottlenecks preventing faster growth in the LNG fleet, as the current ratio of LNG-fuelled vessels to bunker vessels is still too high. Stafford notes that there needs to be ‘an acceleration of bunker infrastructure’ to keep up with the LNG fuelled fleets being delivered.
Evolving standards
Achieving this growth in bunkering capacity is far from straightforward however, as matching LNG availability with global demand remains highly complex. To date only a handful of true LNG refuelling hubs have emerged, with most LNG bunkering operations remaining relatively low scale.
This has meant that global fleet operators cannot always rely on LNG availability across the entirety of their routes and face difficulties planning for contingencies when disruption occurs or rerouting is required, as seen recently with the ongoing Red Sea crisis.
Regulatory uncertainty further complicates the landscape and while the IGF Code remains the backbone of LNG marine fuel regulations, Stafford points out that “it is still evolving to accommodate the growing complexity” of fuel systems and transfer methods.
“Until updated guidance is in place, operators must often work with classification societies on a case-by-case basis to align safety protocols, which adds complexity,” Stafford says. “This is especially important in ammonia and methanol bunkering which isn’t included yet within IGF code, but vessels are being delivered today to burn these fuels.”
CryoFC quick connect coupling
Real-time monitoring
This evolving regulatory framework can create a moving target for operators, making it difficult to invest in new infrastructure and the lack of standardized regulations across different regions also poses a challenge, as vessels often operate in multiple jurisdictions
with varying requirements.
“There's also a technical challenge around system compatibility,” Stafford adds. “Unlike conventional fuels, LNG fuelling requires precise coordination between the bunker vessel and the receiving ship – not just in hardware, but in control systems like ESD integration, mooring interfaces, and communications.”
This technical challenge is one area where real progress is being made, with new solutions helping to streamline the refuelling process and ensure that LNG bunkering can be deployed quicker and more easily.
“Several near-term solutions are poised to improve LNG bunkering efficiency significantly,” Stafford predicts. “Quick Connect/Disconnect Couplings (QCDC) and cryo-FC (quick flange connection) couplings are two examples that reduce manual handling and make hose connections faster, safer, and less reliant on port-specific configurations. These help operators reduce time alongside and minimize turnaround.”
Alongside new connection technologies such as these, solutions such as Integrated Hose Transfer (HTS) are also helping cut complexity. This method combines cargo flow and encryption using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)-based communication into a single setup
allowing for faster, more reliable bunkering sessions – especially critical as bunkering scales up across more vessel types and global locations. Across all these solutions, interoperability remains a vital enabler, with the ability to monitor in real-time becoming a key differentiator
for operational excellence.
“Taken together, these advancements support the goal of making LNG bunkering a routine, globally viable process that is on par with traditional marine fuel handling, but can potentially
be even safer and more technically sophisticated,” Stafford states.
Improving safety
As well as improving the speed of bunkering processes, new technology is also helping to solidify the safety profile of operations. Standardized Emergency Shut Down (ESD) communication between vessels is one of the main examples of this, improving not just efficiency, but
traceability, control and compliance.
"Safety is non-negotiable in LNG bunkering," Stafford asserts. “Integrated ESD ensures that the bunker vessel and receiving ship have direct lines of communication and can initiate a
shutdown from either side in a coordinated, instant response, significantly reducing the risk of operator error or delay in emergencies.”
Hardware also plays a role with standardized, fewer-component systems, such as cryo-FC or pre-integrated hose assemblies now appearing in many solutions. These help reduce manual
interaction with cryogenic components and simplify safety procedures.
Vessel mooring is another area that is changing rapidly with newer technologies like vacuum mooring allowing for quicker turnaround by dynamically accommodating vessel motions during transfer.
“Equally important is crew readiness,” Stafford adds. “Consistent, hands-on training – especially in handling LNG equipment and safety drills – helps maintain high safety standards across different vessels and operating environments. Together, these technologies and practices are turning LNG bunkering into one of the safest fuel transfer operations in the industry.”
Looking ahead, the Asia-Pacific region is poised to lead global growth in LNG as a marine fuel over the next five years. The region is projected to grow at the fastest rate globally, with China alone anticipated to experience a tenfold increase in LNG bunkering demand by 2030.
"The marine industry has made major strides in adopting LNG as a fuel, with a growing fleet of LNG-powered vessels and expanded bunkering capabilities. However, wider uptake still faces a few key barriers,” Andrew Stafford, Technical Director at Trelleborg Marine and Infrastructure, tells LNG Journal. “Infrastructure readiness remains uneven, especially across global routes. While LNG bunkering is now routine in some major ports, many regions lack consistent access to high-capacity, reliable fuelling infrastructure.” This lack of high-capacity bunkering infrastructure remains one of the major bottlenecks preventing faster growth in the LNG fleet, as the current ratio of LNG-fuelled vessels to bunker vessels is still too high. Stafford notes that there needs to be ‘an acceleration of bunker infrastructure’ to keep up with the LNG fuelled fleets being delivered.Evolving standards
Achieving this growth in bunkering capacity is far from straightforward however, as matching LNG availability with global demand remains highly complex. To date only a handful of true LNG refuelling hubs have emerged, with most LNG bunkering operations remaining relatively low scale.
This has meant that global fleet operators cannot always rely on LNG availability across the entirety of their routes and face difficulties planning for contingencies when disruption occurs or rerouting is required, as seen recently with the ongoing Red Sea crisis.
Regulatory uncertainty further complicates the landscape and while the IGF Code remains the backbone of LNG marine fuel regulations, Stafford points out that “it is still evolving to accommodate the growing complexity” of fuel systems and transfer methods.
“Until updated guidance is in place, operators must often work with classification societies on a case-by-case basis to align safety protocols, which adds complexity,” Stafford says. “This is especially important in ammonia and methanol bunkering which isn’t included yet within IGF code, but vessels are being delivered today to burn these fuels.”
CryoFC quick connect coupling
Real-time monitoring
This evolving regulatory framework can create a moving target for operators, making it difficult to invest in new infrastructure and the lack of standardized regulations across different regions also poses a challenge, as vessels often operate in multiple jurisdictions
with varying requirements.
“There's also a technical challenge around system compatibility,” Stafford adds. “Unlike conventional fuels, LNG fuelling requires precise coordination between the bunker vessel and the receiving ship – not just in hardware, but in control systems like ESD integration, mooring interfaces, and communications.”
This technical challenge is one area where real progress is being made, with new solutions helping to streamline the refuelling process and ensure that LNG bunkering can be deployed quicker and more easily.
“Several near-term solutions are poised to improve LNG bunkering efficiency significantly,” Stafford predicts. “Quick Connect/Disconnect Couplings (QCDC) and cryo-FC (quick flange connection) couplings are two examples that reduce manual handling and make hose connections faster, safer, and less reliant on port-specific configurations. These help operators reduce time alongside and minimize turnaround.”
Alongside new connection technologies such as these, solutions such as Integrated Hose Transfer (HTS) are also helping cut complexity. This method combines cargo flow and encryption using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)-based communication into a single setup
allowing for faster, more reliable bunkering sessions – especially critical as bunkering scales up across more vessel types and global locations. Across all these solutions, interoperability remains a vital enabler, with the ability to monitor in real-time becoming a key differentiator
for operational excellence.
“Taken together, these advancements support the goal of making LNG bunkering a routine, globally viable process that is on par with traditional marine fuel handling, but can potentially
be even safer and more technically sophisticated,” Stafford states.
Improving safety
As well as improving the speed of bunkering processes, new technology is also helping to solidify the safety profile of operations. Standardized Emergency Shut Down (ESD) communication between vessels is one of the main examples of this, improving not just efficiency, but
traceability, control and compliance.
"Safety is non-negotiable in LNG bunkering," Stafford asserts. “Integrated ESD ensures that the bunker vessel and receiving ship have direct lines of communication and can initiate a
shutdown from either side in a coordinated, instant response, significantly reducing the risk of operator error or delay in emergencies.”
Hardware also plays a role with standardized, fewer-component systems, such as cryo-FC or pre-integrated hose assemblies now appearing in many solutions. These help reduce manual
interaction with cryogenic components and simplify safety procedures.
Vessel mooring is another area that is changing rapidly with newer technologies like vacuum mooring allowing for quicker turnaround by dynamically accommodating vessel motions during transfer.
“Equally important is crew readiness,” Stafford adds. “Consistent, hands-on training – especially in handling LNG equipment and safety drills – helps maintain high safety standards across different vessels and operating environments. Together, these technologies and practices are turning LNG bunkering into one of the safest fuel transfer operations in the industry.”
Looking ahead, the Asia-Pacific region is poised to lead global growth in LNG as a marine fuel over the next five years. The region is projected to grow at the fastest rate globally, with China alone anticipated to experience a tenfold increase in LNG bunkering demand by 2030.