“It will unlock the supply chain (for LNG) and provide a valuable example for others with their courage to unlock this potential,” he said. Maillot also noted that there has been interest from other lines as well.
“The more vessels we build the more the equipment will also be available and this will have a knock-on effect on lowering costs of the build,” he suggested. With this first big contract, other container ship owners who may have been taking a wait-and-see attitude will have more incentive to take the plunge he believed.
On the dry bulk side however, Maillot was a little more tempered. “Here I don’t see the same interest when I speak to the shipowners,” he said.
“I may be wrong, but here I am a bit more sceptical,” Maillot concluded. However he added that BV also wants to contribute to any progress in this segment by being involved in an advanced industry project for a LNG-fuelled newcastlemax design.
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