Shipping Industry
cooling it to -163 degrees Celsius at a liquefaction plant,
thereby reducing the volume of the gas by 600 times.
The reduced volume allows for the efficient storage and
transportation of natural gas by ship over long distances,
enabling countries with limited natural gas reserves or
limited access to long-distance transmission pipelines to
meet their demand for natural gas.
LNG is transported by sea via dedicated LNG carriers. These
doubled-hulled ships feature a sophisticated containment
system that holds and insulates the LNG in order to
maintain its liquid state. LNG that evaporates during the
voyage and converts back to natural gas (called boil-off )
is used as fuel to help propel the carrier. At the end of
the voyage, the LNG is unloaded and turned back into its
gaseous form at a regasification facility.
In 2013, a total of 237 million tonnes of LNG was shipped
worldwide. Most of the demand for LNG comes from
Asia, which accounts for 75% of global imports. Japan is
by far the largest consumer of LNG, importing 88 million
tonnes in 2013, or 37% of the global total. South Korea
is the world’s second largest importer, while China and
India are becoming increasingly important importers of
LNG and are expected to be the main drivers of demand
in the future.
On the supply side, 17 countries currently export LNG. The
largest LNG exporter is Qatar, whose 78 million tonnes of
exports in 2013 accounted for one-third of the global total.
Other important LNG exporters include Malaysia, Australia,
and Indonesia.
Looking ahead, Australia is expected to overtake Qatar
as the world’s largest producer of LNG in the next few
years, while North America – including both the United
States and Canada – is expected to emerge as a significant
supplier of LNG by the end of the decade.
A fleet of around 400 dedicated LNG carriers is used to
transport LNG across the world every day. A standard LNG
carrier can transport approximately 150,000–170,000 cubic
metres of LNG, although the largest vessels in the fleet can
carry up to 265,000 cubic metres. LNG carriers are complex
vessels to construct compared to bulk carriers or tankers
and, as a result, are more expensive; the average price for
a new LNG carrier is approximately $200 million. Most LNG
carriers are built by shipyards in South Korea, although a
small number of vessels are also built in Japan and China.
Ownership of the L 9