More than half of all containerships on order are capable of sailing on liquefied natural gas (LNG) or methanol, reflecting growing concern over green fuel availability, reports New York's Journal of Commerce.

Bimco shipping analyst Neils Rasmussen said 534 containerships on order as of end-August will be able to use alternative fuels, representing 53 per cent of ships and 77 per cent of TEUs on order.

LNG remains the most popular alternative fuel, accounting for two-thirds of all alternatively fueled ships on order. Orders this year include seven 16,000-TEU LNG and ammonia-capable ships from Yang Ming, six 22,000-TEU LNG vessels from MSC, and 11 24,000-TEU LNG-capable ships from Evergreen Marine.

For ships of 8,000 TEU or more, 81 per cent of vessels and 85 per cent of TEU capacity on order are LNG or methanol-capable. Mr Rasmussen said the shift from methanol to LNG reflects concerns over fuel availability.

By 2030, over 25 per cent of container capacity could be alternatively fueled, with 837 ships totalling 10.9 million TEU if none are recycled. Other sectors lag behind, with alternatively fueled ships making up just 8 per cent of bulkers, 17 per cent of crude tankers, and 9 per cent of product tankers.

At London International Shipping Week, industry leaders warned of a shortfall in green fuels. The IMO's net-zero framework aims for 5 to 10 per cent of shipping fuel to be zero- or near-zero emission by 2030, but current orders will meet only 37 per cent of that demand.

Reports from UCL Energy Institute, Global Maritime Forum and Accelleron highlighted fragmented fuel demand and lack of scalable carbon-neutral fuels. Accelleron estimated 333 million tons of LNG would be needed annually by 2050 to fully decarbonise shipping.