BHP’s top shipping official has predicted that LNG bunkering will lead the industry’s drive toward greener, lower-emission fuels, eventually making the current business model redundant.

In Nor-Shipping’s Ocean Leadership Conference, Rashpal Bhatti, the Australian mining giant’s vice-president of market freight, said the traditional way of assessing vessel values is becoming invalid with the requirements in meeting new emission standards.

“That model of the 20-year vessel depreciation model is no longer relevant today,” Bhatti said, referring to the general lifespan of a ship.