Shipowners ordered 69 alternative-fuelled vessels in September, the strongest monthly total in nearly two years and the capstone of the busiest quarter for green-fuel contracting since the third quarter of 2024, according to DNV's Alternative Fuels Insight platform.

The September activity pushed third-quarter orders to 168 vessels, reversing a sluggish first half in which owners contracted just 137 alternative-fuelled ships between January and June — down from 155 a year earlier. DNV has now recorded 311 alternative-fuel vessel orders so far this year, up 53% from the same point in 2025.

"After a relatively slow start to 2026, vessel ordering activity picked up significantly in the third quarter," said Jason Stefanatos, Global Decarbonization Director at DNV Maritime. "September capped the strongest quarter for alternative-fuelled vessel contracting in the past two years, bringing year-to-date orders comfortably above the level seen at the same point last year."

What did owners actually order?

LNG dominated the September books. Of the 69 vessels contracted, 48 will run on LNG, spanning containerships, car carriers, bulk carriers and ro-ro cargo vessels. Another 12 orders covered ethanol-fuelled bulk carriers, while nine vessels were specified for LPG propulsion.

That distribution matters for shipper-facing fleets. LNG continues to anchor dual-fuel capacity in the container and ro-ro segments — the tonnage that carries boxed and rolling cargo — meaning charter markets and liner networks will see steadily more LNG-capable ships delivered over the coming years.

The fuel mix also signals that no single successor to conventional marine fuel has emerged. Owners are spreading bets across LNG, ethanol, LPG and methanol, depending on trade lane, vessel profile and bunkering availability.

"Ordering activity can turn quickly, as this quarter shows," Stefanatos said. "The mix of fuels and vessel types still varies from one segment to another, which reflects the different operating profiles and commercial realities across the industry."

How fast is the fleet actually changing?

Alternative-fuel-capable tonnage has grown from 0.4% of the global fleet in 2020 to 5.2% in 2026, DNV reports, led primarily by LNG and methanol systems.

The caveat is operational. Many dual-fuel vessels in service today still burn conventional fuel for most voyages, because lower-emission alternatives cost more and their availability varies considerably by region. The orderbook, in other words, is outpacing actual green-fuel consumption — a gap that will shape bunker demand and port infrastructure investment for years.

For carriers, the strategy amounts to paying upfront for optionality. Ships ordered now will trade for decades, and a dual-fuel specification hedges against tightening emissions rules and unpredictable fuel-price spreads. For forwarders and shippers, the build-out underpins the Scope 3 reporting capacity that carriers will increasingly market as part of their service offerings.

What comes next?

Regulation remains the swing factor. DNV warned in its latest Maritime Forecast to 2050 that regulatory outcomes could significantly change the economics of alternative fuels over the operating lives of vessels ordered today — meaning today's LNG-heavy orderbook could look either prescient or costly depending on how emissions rules land.

Still, the contracting data shows owners are not waiting for regulatory clarity. "The overall level of contracting suggests that shipowners continue to invest in alternative-fuel capability as part of their longer-term fleet strategies," Stefanatos said.

With year-to-date orders already 53% ahead of 2025 and September posting the best monthly figure since October 2024, the orderbook suggests alternative-fuel contracting will keep accelerating — provided fuel-cost spreads and pending emissions rules do not derail the economics.