DNV’s database recorded fourteen new alternative-fuel capable vessel orders in September, marking a slight recovery after a dry August.

CHART: Alternative-fuelled vessel order landscape in September 2025. ENGINE, DNV

LNG dominated September's orders with 12 new vessels, lifting the total LNG-capable orderbook to 631 vessels scheduled for delivery by 2033. The global LNG-capable fleet in operation now stands at 788.

LPG accounted for the remaining two September orders, taking the fleet to 135 vessels in operation and 93 on order towards 2028.

No new orders were placed for methanol or ammonia-capable ships. Current figures show 77 methanol- and three ammonia-capable vessels in operation, with 359 methanol- and 39 ammonia-capable vessels on order for delivery through 2030.

“Activity levels clearly slowed down” in the third quarter of 2025, Kristian Hammer, senior consultant at DNV said in a social media post. Only 41 new orders were placed between July and September, compared with 69 in the first quarter and 82 in the second.

In comparison, bunker vessel activity has remained more resilient.

DNV recorded two new LNG bunker vessel orders in September, following two in August.

“This makes it 34 LNG bunker vessels in total on order, joining the 62 vessels already in operation, as the industry works to keep pace with the expanding LNG-fuelled fleet,” Hammer noted.

There are also five methanol-specific bunker vessels and one ammonia bunker vessel currently on order through 2028.

By Konica Bhatt

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