The recently announced plans by Saga LNG Shipping to build small LNG carriers for coastal and river transport is not just the decision of a forward-thinking shipping company. Because the Chinese economy is controlled by the central government, the Ministry of Transport’s plans to promote LNG as a clean fuel for the shipping industry have to be taken seriously.
They also reflect the fact that the cost and scale of transitioning vast numbers of vessels — large or small — onto LNG fuel will benefit from state support rather than a market-driven approach.
