The Adoption of Liquefied Natural Gas as a Fuel in Greek Passenger Shipping: Possibilities and Limitations

Greece has a unique insular character with almost 6000 islands sur- rounding its mainland. This trait is the main reason for Greece devel- oping one of the leading passenger shipping industries in Europe. With increasing exhaust emissions brought about by this excessive shipping activity in its waters, Greece having to deal with air pollution, haz- ardous to populations in its coastal areas and to the country’s environ- ment. Taking the above into consideration alongside the International and European regulations on ship air emissions, it is imperative that a combined e↵ort is made by all involved to reduce these ship air emis- sion. For this to succeed, all alternative options should be looked into. This research examines the limitations and possibilities of the adoption of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as an alternative ship fuel in order to reduce air emissions associated with the Greek ferries. Each aspect of the research indicates that the adoption of LNG is feasible provided the existence of bunkering infrastructure and governmental or EU financ- ing for overcoming the large capital costs. Furthermore, the volatility of the price of LNG, which was found to be higher than that of other fuels, could be a drawback for the change of ship fuel from oil to LNG in small ferry companies mainly based in small ports.