Liquefied natural gas as alternative bunker for IMO 2020

Abstract

With IMO 2020 deadline approaching nearer the vessel owners are looking for cleaner fuel or better options to meet the new emissions norms. The first option is going for cleaner low sulphur oil which more pressure on refineries and costs could be an issue. The scrubbers could be a short-term solution but costs of the same may be too high for the vessel owner. LNG fuel could be good option with zero emissions of sulphur and easy availability. The paper discusses the merits and demerits of LNG as alternative bunker. It also analysis the relationship between prices of LNG with Brent crude and MGO. The results show that LNG prices are not correlated with the prices of Brent crude and MGO prices.