No new orders for alternative-fuel capable vessels were recorded in August – the first time this has happened since 2018, according to classification society DNV.

Alternative-fuel newbuild contracting has slowed over the summer months, Kristian Hammer, product manager AFI and senior consultant at DNV, said in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday.

Only two LNG bunkering vessel orders were added to DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform last month.

By comparison, 28 alternative-fuelled vessels were ordered in July, up from 19 in June, but still well below the 49 seen in April.

“So far this year, 178 alternative-fuelled vessels have been added to the orderbook, a significant reduction (49%) on the 350 ordered in the same period in 2024, albeit against the backdrop of a much slower overall newbuild market in 2025, compared to 2024,” Hammer noted.