For an industry that is the lifeblood of global trade and has continually worked hard to reduce its carbon emissions, shipping has received an unfair level of criticism and penalties, panellists said at LNG2026.
In a session titled ‘Seas of Change: LNG shipping in an Evolving Energy Landscape’, top executives warned of the risks of hampering the economics of global trade and the counterproductive nature of regulations.
Sveinung Stohle, deputy CEO at Angelicoussis Group, argued that, while the industry has to live with regulations, the recent proposals from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to decarbonise the sector act like a punitive tax and should be a “wake-up call” for shipowners. Stohle said the IMO plans are not “fit for purpose” and those “that invest all the money and take all the risk” must be in the driver’s seat.
The IMO has approved a landmark global carbon pricing scheme for the shipping industry in a bid to slash emissions, with implementation starting in 2028.
Stohle’s warnings received an ovation from attendees, all of whom were aware of the strides the sector has made to lower emissions and the fact it makes up only 3% of overall emissions despite accounting for more than 80% of global trade by volume.
The panellists—which included Eng. Abdullah Al-Sulaiti, CEO of Nakilat, Carl-Antoine Saverys, CEO of Exmar, and Panos Mitrou, senior vice president, shipping strategy, at Lloyd’s Register— agreed that the industry is always trying to be more efficient, and so lowering costs and lowering emissions go hand in hand.
“I don’t think regulations will ever drive a business. It’s competition that drives business,” said Saverys.
There have been significant improvements when it comes to fuel efficiencies in LNG carriers, but Saverys added that “in every single segment of the shipping industry, there’s always big improvements at all levels”.
“We should be proud of our industry rather than say that we [produce] 3% of the global emissions,” Saverys added, highlighting the fact “we are still the most efficient way of transporting goods from one place to another, and I think we’re still constantly striving for improvements.”
Saverys added that, if the industry is more efficient, it will consume less and that fuel is probably one of the biggest cost drivers in shipping.
Mitrou noted that increased long-term risk is unhelpful to the energy transition. “We need to balance things between the transition ambition, but also the realism and the safe investment,” he said, talking up the need for pragmatism, fairness, inclusion and technology development.
Al-Sulaiti, meanwhile, pointed at the dangers of improving fuel efficiency at the cost of reliability and the importance of long-term partnerships to manage risk, especially given the capital-intensive nature of the industry and the challenge to balance risk and return.
The panellists noted that the rise of LNG shipping presents an opportunity given the growth in LNG supply and the need for new infrastructure. It also presents an opportunity to repurpose LNG vessels as floating storage units. They also highlighted how much LNG demand will be needed as the world moves away from coal and creates a lower-carbon energy sector.
This article was originally published in the LNG2026 Show Daily, produced by Petroleum Economist. Click here to read the Show Dailies in full and here to find out more about LNG2026.
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