Multipurpose vessel (MPP) owners are content to wait and see what bigger shipowners are doing when it comes to selecting alternative fuels.

Despite a small, ageing fleet and upcoming environmental regulations, the MPP owners said their sector was in a transitional phase as shoreside infrastructure gets built out and companies investigate new ship designs.

“Will we be able to switch from the traditional fuel to a new fuel in the short-term, medium-term? No,” said United Heavy Lift chief commercial officer Dominik Stehle at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk22 conference in New Orleans on Wednesday.