“Plenty of talking points from the March update of DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform,” says Jason Stefanatos, the Global Decarbonization Director at DNV, regarding the latest data from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform.
According to DNV’s AFI platform, a total of 25 new orders -excluding LNG carriers- for alternative-fuelled vessels were added to the database, bringing the first quarter (Q1) total to 71.
Although this is 13% lower than the first quarter of 2024, it is important to note that overall newbuild activity in the maritime industry is significantly slower in 2025 compared to 2024.
Out of the 25 orders, methanol takes the lead with 12 newbuilding orders in diverse segments, followed by LNG with 7 orders in the container segment.
Specifically, methanol is back in the mix after some quiet months, accounting for 12 of the 25 new orders. Interestingly, these were spread across diverse segments, and it is promising to see owners in the cruise, car carrier, bulk carrier, and tanker segments investing in this fuel.
Seven orders too for LNG-fuelled vessels, all in the container segment, representing a slight slowdown after several months of high activity towards this fuel.
Jason Stefanatos, Global Decarbonization Director at DNV, said: “Also notable to see two orders for ammonia-fuelled vessels in March.
“Ammonia is still emerging as a marine fuel, and wider infrastructure still needs to be developed, but activity like this from shipowners sends positive signals to the rest of the market.”
