Clarksons Research have today released their latest Green Technology Tracker, including full year 2025 data points, charting the progress of alternative fuel uptake and investments in energy saving technologies across the global shipping fleet. Summarising the latest Tracker, Steve Gordon, Global Head of Clarksons Research, commented:
“With the geo-political and industry consensus on emissions regulation stalling for the moment and continued challenges around “green” fuel pricing and availability, trends in alternative fuel uptake have stabilised across 2025 with the share of orderbook tonnage adopting alternative fuel steady at 47% (end 2024: 50%, end 2015: 10%).
Across 2025 there have been orders for 499 vessels totalling 41.1m GT involving alternative fuel capability, accounting for 37% of all tonnage contracted across the year (2024: 45%, 2015: 8%). Containerships, which dominated ordering in 2025, continued to lead alternative fuel contracting, with 62% of containership capacity alternative fuel capable. Shipping segments that can utilise cargo as fuel (e.g. LNG carriers, LPG carriers) or have market structures, trading patterns and stakeholders that are supportive (e.g. Container, PCC) continue to have highest adoption rates.
LNG has remained the alternative fuel of choice, accounting for 80% of alternative fuel tonnage ordered (up from 2024: 75%), amidst ongoing concerns around the availability and bunkering infrastructure of fuels such as green methanol and ammonia. Overall, we have reported orders for vessels capable of using either LNG (256 orders, 195 excluding LNG carriers), methanol (66), ammonia (5), LPG (21) or hydrogen (9), with 171 battery-fitted.
Amidst continued uncertainty around fuelling choices, some owners pursued ‘fuel optionality’; 20% of tonnage ordered across the year was alternative fuel ready, accounting for 41% of capacity contracted in bulkers, 32% in tankers and 13% in containerships.
Alternative fuel deliveries reached a new record in 2025 at 484 vessels of 33.8m GT (44% of output), which brought alternative fuel capable fleet capacity to 9% in GT terms as of start-26. With the current orderbook (~47% of orderbook tonnage set to be alternative fuelled) and projected investment in the coming years, we forecast that over 20% of fleet capacity will be alternative fuel capable by 2030.
Investments in port infrastructure and the availability of “green” fuels continue to lag. LNG bunkering is available at 222 ports (62 planned) and shore power connections are available at 285 ports (79 planned). However, only 48 ports have methanol bunkering available or planned.
Energy Saving Technologies (ESTs) remain a crucial part of shipping’s decarbonisation pathway with increasing adoption and supporting both fuel economics and emissions economics. Significant ESTs have been fitted on over 14,189 ships, accounting for >46% of fleet tonnage: this includes propeller ducts, rubber bulbs, Flettner rotors, wind assistance, air lubrication systems and others. In addition, there are 50 vessels in the fleet and 7 on the orderbook that are testing onboard carbon capture technology, and 3,940 ships in the fleet are fitted with shore power connections.
As of start 2026, 37% of global tonnage is fitted with an “eco” engine (projected to be ~50% of fleet by 2030) and 31% of tonnage is fitted with an SOx scrubber. We continue to see trends in vessel speeds (long term downward trend, short term trends still dynamically impacted by market conditions or disruption to trading patterns.
We estimate that the shipping industry today accounts for ~2% of global GHG emissions, with emissions levels currently trending upwards (2025e: +1.6%). However, shipping remains the most carbon efficient mode of transport and the emissions intensity of the fleet has steadily declined since 2008.”
Attached is the latest version of the Clarkson Research Green Technology Tracker and below further commentary on the data points:
Green Technology Uptake January 2026
- In 2025, amidst more moderate newbuild contracting volumes than in 2024, a total of 499 units of 41.1m GT ordered were reported to have alternative fuel capability, equivalent to 37% of tonnage contracted (2024 full year: 44%). Alternative fuel capable vessels contracted in 2025 included 256 LNG capable vessels of 33.0m GT, 66 methanol capable units of 5.8m GT, 21 LPG capable units of 0.9m GT, 4 ethane capable units of 0.1m GT and 171 battery/hybrid vessels of 4.3m GT. Basis non-LNG carriers, alternative fuel capable tonnage accounted for 34% of total contracting across 2025, compared to 40% in full year 2024 and 36% in 2023.
- Uptake of alternative fuels has continued to progress, with just under half of the orderbook in GT terms capable of using alternative fuels or battery hybrid propulsion (47.0%, start 2025: 50.0%, start 2017: 11.1%). Meanwhile, 9.4%* (start 2025: 7.7%, 2017: 2.7%) of the fleet on the water in tonnage terms is capable of using alternative fuels or propulsion, a share which could increase to ~11% by the end of 2027.
- Of the total orderbook, 34.3% of tonnage is set to use LNG (1,010 units), 8.3% to use methanol (323 units), 1.8% to use LPG (139 units) and ~2.7% due to use other alternative fuels (564 units) including hydrogen (37), ethane (55), ammonia (45), biofuels (20) and battery/hybrid propulsion (550).
- With future optionality over fuel choice continuing to gain traction, there are now 632 LNG ready ships in the fleet and 228 on the orderbook, while there are 822 methanol ready, 327 ammonia ready and 17 hydrogen ready vessels on order.
- Energy Saving Technologies (ESTs) uptake continues, with ESTs having been fitted on over 14,189 ships, accounting for 46.1% of fleet tonnage: this includes propeller ducts, rudder bulbs, Flettner rotors, wind kites, air lubrication systems and others.
- SOx scrubbers are now fitted to over 6,912 ships in the fleet, equivalent to 30.8% of total tonnage. Scrubber retrofitting activity and newbuild uptake has continued, with c.319 vessels retrofitted with a scrubber and 370 scrubber fitted newbuild orders in 2025 (2024: 347 retrofits and 616 newbuild orders). Price differentials between HSFO and VLSFO at key ports remain narrow, with the differential now standing at approximately $72/tonne in Singapore and $49/tonne in Rotterdam as of end-December.
- ‘Eco’ ships make up a growing share of the fleet (‘modern’ eco vessels now 37.0% of total GT) with implications for earning potential, asset values and increasingly “tiered” and complex charter markets. For context, we estimate that 34.3% of global tonnage was ‘eco’ as of start 2025, and just 17.7% at start-2019.
- The average age of the world fleet is increasing, standing at 13.4 years on a GT weighted basis (up from a low of 9.7 years in 2013). For the bulkcarrier fleet, the average age is 13.0 years, for tankers it is 14.2 years, whilst for containerships it is 14.3 years. Today, ~39% of global tonnage is aged over 15 years.
- The overall orderbook as a % of fleet capacity in dwt terms remains historically moderate at ~18%, though with significant variation between sectors – the LNG carrier and containership orderbooks, in capacity terms, equal ~39% and ~34% respectively, while bulkers and tankers equal just ~13% and ~17% respectively.
- ‘Green’ port infrastructure is continuing to expand: currently there are 222 active LNG bunkering ports (and 62 planned facilities), while over 3,940 vessels in the fleet are fitted/set to be fitted with shore power connections; Clarksons Research are also collecting data on ammonia and hydrogen infrastructure, and carbon capture projects.
*in number of vessels this is ~2.4%.
Source: Clarksons Research
