Singapore doubles down on LNG, but eyes multi-fuel future

While the IMO Net-Zero Framework may have been dealt a setback, with adoption no longer a certainty, the city-state is moving ahead with its own ambitions for net zero by 2050.

Those net-zero ambitions, however, do not preclude the use and supply of fossil fuels – far from it. Singapore is taking a pragmatic approach to lowering its emissions, securing its own energy security and aligning itself to be a major supplier of fuel and energy to shipping and the region for years to come. This means adding the country’s first floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to boost the supply of LNG. Singapore LNG chief executive, Leong Wei Hung, said the FSRU “underscores the importance of LNG in Singapore’s energy mix.” Like many of its neighbours, Singapore depends heavily on fossil fuels; it produces about 95% of its power from imported natural gas. LNG provides the flexibility of gas supply to secure its energy security.

“LNG provides the flexibility of gas supply to secure energy security”

With more LNG-fuelled ships entering service, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) issued a call for applications for additional LNG bunkering licenses. With LNG jumping almost 24% to record highs in 2025 and just three companies licensed, the move by MPA should boost capacity of the fuel in the port.

But MPA and Singapore still have their eye on the future. Those that are applying for licenses to supply LNG, also must detail how they would supply lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, such as liquefied bio-methane and e-methane. Additionally, they will be required to monitor and mitigate methane slip from their LNG bunker vessels. This year, almost 1,000 LNG-fuelled ships will be in operation, jumping to more than 1,400 by 2028, according to DNV Alternative Fuels Insight.

MPA is requiring all new harbour craft to be fully electric, capable of using B100 biofuels, or be compatible with net-zero fuels by 2030. There are currently about 1,600 diesel-powered harbour craft operating in the city-state’s port.

This year also saw the first three methanol bunkering licenses issued by MPA, with one of the recipients, Golden Island, completing the first green methanol bunkering at the port on the dry bulk cargo vessel Brave Pioneer. Upon delivery of the ship into its fleet, Bernhard Schulte Management managing director, Firoze Mirza, said: “Our role as shipmanager is to ensure they can be operated safely, reliably, and at scale.”

But handling alternatives and operating dual-fuel engine technology requires advanced training. Like BSM, many of the shipmanagers we spoke to in Singapore know a ship’s best safety system – particularly with the rapid change in regulations and influx of new engines, fuels and digitalisation – is its well-trained crew. They are training cadets and upskilling their crews with specialised LNG, methanol and ammonia training curricula to support their fluency and familiarity with new fuels and technologies. The regulatory, operational, technical and commercial pressures on seafarers have never been greater and their value should never be overlooked.