The number of vessels using LNG as a marine fuel is growing rapidly.
LNG carriers have been capable of utilising boil-off-gas as a fuel for steam turbines for over fifty years.
However, the first non-LNG carrier vessel powered by LNG – the LNG-fuelled ferry GLUTRA with gas engines and storage – came into service in 2000, in Norway.
Since 2010, the number of vessels fuelled by LNG has grown consistently by between 20% and 40% per annum. By mid-2025, there were around 800 LNG-fuelled ships in operation, excluding the 700-strong LNG carrier fleet, the majority of which are LNG-fuelled, and nearly 1000 ships on order.
An estimated 37% of the new order book by gross tonnage is LNG-fuelled. New vessel orders are increasingly focused on the deep-sea vessels including cruise ships, container vessels, pure car and truck carriers (PCTC)s, crude and product tankers, and bulk carriers.
More information on the current global fleet of LNG powered vessels and up-to-date numbers of the world’s LNG bunker vessel numbers can be found on.