LNG bunkering surges in Shanghai and Shenzhen in first half as Singapore falters

CHINA’s top ports are accelerating their push into cleaner marine fuels, with Shanghai and Shenzhen recording sharp surges in liquified natural gas bunkering in the first half of 2025, while volumes in Singapore slipped.

From January to June, LNG bunkering volumes at Shenzhen’s Yantian port soared by 160% year on year, reaching 310,000 cu m, which exceeded the port’s full-year volume for 2024, according to the local authority. Full-year volumes are expected to reach 600,000 cu m.

Data from Yantian Maritime show that since the start of LNG bunkering services, Yantian has conducted 133 LNG bunkering operations, supplying 620,200 cu m in total, ranking second nationwide in both volume and number of operations.

This growth reflects Shenzhen’s broader strategy to lead in LNG infrastructure and trading. As the first hub port equipped with LNG bunkering capability in southern China, Shenzhen is positioning itself as a future global gas trading centre. Starting in 2021 with infrastructure buildout and pilot operations, the city is now expanding LNG bunkering services in Yantian, Shekou and Xiaomo ports, aiming to develop the city into another global LNG bunkering centre. By 2030, Shenzhen aims to establish a regional gas pricing benchmark and an integrated trading platform settled in Yuan.

While Shenzhen posted strong gains, Shanghai maintained its lead in China. During the same period, Shanghai port supplied 384,000 cu m of bonded LNG bunker fuel in the first half of 2025, up 57.7% year on year — the highest volume among all Chinese ports, according to data from Shanghai Customs.

In contrast, data from Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore showed that Singapore, the world’s top bunkering hub, recorded a 3.1% decline over the same period, delivering about 577,306 cu m of LNG.

Energy consultancy Lansdowne Moritz’s LNG bunkering model showed 64% year-on-year volume growth in the global LNG bunkering market from January to May, 2025. Although Singapore remains the largest bunkering port, China is the fastest growing country for LNG bunkering.

Looking ahead, with major global liners having ordered or launched LNG-powered containerships, demand for marine LNG is set to surge between 2026 and 2028, as newbuildings are delivered in scale.

“The challenge will be finding enough bunkering capacity to keep up as more LNG-fuelled ships come online,” a source from a Chinese yard told Lloyd’s List.