Newbuilding orders for LNG carriers may soar to a record, fuelled by surging US exports of LNG or "Freedom Gas" – as branded by the Trump administration – and Qatar’s planned output boost, says a leading transport analyst.

“The LNG ship order boom has staying power, in our view, and could surpass $15bn on Qatar’s expected push for 60 to 100 new ships,” said Bloomberg senior transport analyst Rahul Kapoor.