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Inside the Race to Control the World’s Lithium Supply

By Felicity Bradstock - Apr 18, 2026

• Global lithium production has surged nearly tenfold since 2015, driven by booming demand for EVs, energy storage, and digital infrastructure
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• China dominates both lithium production and refining, controlling a significant share of the global supply chain
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• Western countries are accelerating domestic mining and new technologies to reduce dependence and improve sustainability
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The world is ramping up its lithium production in a bid to meet the growing global demand for critical minerals, being driven by renewable energy deployment and the higher uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) and other electronics. Lithium production from mining increased from 31,500 metric tonnes in 2015 to 82,500 tonnes in 2020 and 290,000 tonnes in 2025. While China remains the world’s biggest lithium producer, as production expands, several new players are entering the market, which is helping to diversify operations.

The global lithium-battery market exceeded a value of over $150 billion in 2025, marking a 20 percent increase compared to 2024. “Batteries are becoming a cornerstone of the automotive sector, a critical source of flexibility for power systems, and an increasingly important source of back-up power for digital infrastructure, including data centres and artificial intelligence,” according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Lithium-ion batteries are also used for industrial and strategic applications, such as in defence.

South America is the most well-known region for lithium production and is home to the lithium triangle, an area with vast lithium reserves connecting Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile. The region holds approximately 53 percent of the world’s lithium reserves. The three countries, along with Peru, contain about 67 percent of proven lithium reserves and produce around half of the global supply, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

China dominates global lithium production, having invested in some of the world’s largest mines, as well as increased its domestic production of the white gold. By 2027, China is expected to contribute around 32 percent of global lithium production from domestic projects and another 18 percent of production from overseas operations, giving Chinese companies control of around half of the global lithium market. However, China holds a much larger control of the lithium refining market and is expected to manage around 81 percent of lithium refining activities by 2027. 

Western powers are, therefore, highly dependent on China for their lithium supply. Its strong hold of the lithium market has also led China to dominate global lithium-ion battery production, which has bolstered its electronics industry. In January, the United States announced plans to boost self-sufficiency and reduce its reliance on China for its lithium by rapidly expanding domestic mining activities. 

In October, the U.S. Department of Energy took a 5 percent stake in Lithium Americas Corp and a separate 5 percent stake in the company’s Thacker Pass joint venture with General Motors, which is expected to be the largest lithium source in the Western Hemisphere.

At the time, the U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated, “Despite having some of the largest deposits, the United States produces less than 1% percent of the global supply of lithium. Thanks to President Trump’s bold leadership, American lithium production is going to skyrocket.” Wright added that the move is aimed at reducing U.S. dependence on foreign adversaries for critical minerals by strengthening domestic supply chains.

The United Kingdom is also looking to develop its domestic lithium production through the development of a mine in the south-west county of Cornwall, to be operated by Cornish Lithium. While traditional mining methods will be used to extract the lithium, such as drilling and blasting in a quarry, the project’s operators are adamant that environmental permits are very strict, meaning that the firm will be expected to be sustainable where possible and dispose of waste appropriately

Meanwhile, certain byproducts attained from the extraction process can be useful, such as silica for cement, sulphate of potash for fertiliser, and gypsum for plasterboard. The firm aims to develop more sustainable mining practices where possible, such as in the use of electric trucks. This is particularly important for the project’s success, as several other European lithium projects have faced backlash from locals and environmentalists concerned about the impact of mining on the environment, as seen in both Portugal and Serbia.

Canada also has its sights set on sustainable lithium mining. At present, Canada produces around 6,000 tonnes of lithium a year, compared to Australia’s 88,000. In Western Canada’s Alberta, which is well known for its oil production, researchers are hoping to use a new extraction method to produce lithium more sustainably. The direct lithium extraction (DLE) method does not require solar evaporation – which is used in South American lithium mining – to extract the lithium, instead, it relies on chemicals to extract the lithium directly.

Ngai Yin Yip, a professor of earth and environmental engineering at Columbia University, recently published a study about a solvent that researchers believe can be used to extract lithium from brine. So far, this method has only been practised in the lab, but the promising lab results have encouraged a company called Piepgrass to test the method at scale, in real-world conditions.

As the global lithium market continues to grow, several new players are entering the industry. Although China will likely maintain its market dominance, the United States is expected to make strides in lithium extraction and processing in the coming years, while some European companies develop smaller projects. In addition, a greater emphasis is expected to be placed on sustainable lithium production to help governments achieve decarbonisation aims in line with a green transition.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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Iron ore price rises on Australia supply disruption fears, portside stocks decline

Reuters | April 17, 2026 | 

Port Hedland. Credit: Fortescue

Dalian iron ore futures edged higher on Friday, as investors weighed potential supply disruptions in Australia against tempered demand stemming from China’s environmental curbs in a key steel-making province.

The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.39% higher at 778.5 yuan ($114.06) a metric ton.

The contract has gained 2.85% so far this week, and is on track to snap two consecutive weekly losses.

The benchmark May iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was down 0.49% at $105.8 a ton. The contract has risen 2.24% this week so far.

Portside iron ore inventories declined this week, with the drawdown on previously banned BHP product Jimblebar Fines, Shanghai Metals Market said in a note.

Hot metal production has also been sustained at high levels, supporting demand.

In addition, a fire at one of Australia’s two oil refineries has stoked concerns of diesel shortages, which could affect mining operations in China’s biggest iron ore supplier.

Concerns over a short-term supply contraction in the iron ore market have been compounded by persistently high energy prices and fuel shortages linked to the Iran war, Shanghai Metals Market added.

However, several cities in China’s key steelmaking province Hebei have activated emergency responses to air pollution, stoking fears over demand for iron ore as steelmakers restrict production.

Authorities in cities such as Tangshan, Xingtai and Langfang have announced level 2 emergency responses over WeChat on April 16-17.

In company news, Brazilian miner Vale reported on Thursday its highest iron ore sales for a first quarter since 2018.

The company’s iron ore sales, which include fines, pellets and run-of-mine, rose 3.9% to 68.7 million metric tons for the January-March quarter from a year earlier.

Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE fell, with coking coal and coke down 1.15% and 0.15%, respectively.

Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained. Rebar lifted 0.42%, hot-rolled coil advanced 0.33%, wire rod was little changed, and stainless steel jumped 2.2%.

($1 = 6.8256 yuan)

(By Ruth Chai; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Brazil mining sector posts higher Q1 revenue, association says

Reuters | April 15, 2026 | 

Vale’s iron ore mine in Pará, Brazil. (Image by: José Rodrigo Zermiani | Agência Vale)

Brazil’s mining sector generated revenue of 77.9 billion reais ($15.6 billion) in the first quarter, up 6% from a year earlier, Brazilian mining industry association Ibram said on Wednesday.

Sector exports totaled 87.9 million metric tons in the quarter, up 0.9% year-on-year.

Export revenue rose 21.5% to $11.4 billion.

Iron ore exports reached 84.8 million tons, up 0.8%, valued at $6.2 billion, up 2.4%.

Iron ore accounted for 48% of total sector revenue at 37.5 billion reais, down 3% from a year earlier.

Ibram represents companies including Vale, Gerdau, ArcelorMittal and Mosaic.

($1 = 4.9947 reais)

(By Marta Nogueira and Isabel Teles; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

The Rare Earth Trap: How China Outmaneuvered the Entire Western Defense Industry

By Charles Kennedy - Apr 17, 2026

In 1992, China’s political leader Deng Xiaoping made a comparison that should’ve set off alarms across the West: “There is oil in the Middle East; there is rare earth in China.”

Instead, for the next 30 years, Western governments largely treated rare earth processing as low-value work — something they could hand off to whoever would do it cheapest. But then REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) came along with partners and started building domestic processing capability while most of the industry was still looking the other way.

Beijing saw the value in rare earths early and treated it as a long-term weapon, which is why China now controls roughly 90% of global rare earth processing

That covers not just mining, but the refining and metal-making that turn raw rock into parts for everything from fighter jets to wind turbines.

It spent 30 years building that position deliberately, with state-backed financing, predatory pricing, and export controls designed to prevent anyone else from catching up.

And the approach has paid off. When Beijing threatened to cut off processed rare earths during tariff talks last year, the Trump administration reversed course within days. It’s no surprise, given that China controls the supply of materials our military can’t function without.

While the rare earth shortage has started making headlines over the last year or so, REalloys saw this coming years ago. While the rest of the industry was still reacting to China pulling the strings, REalloys and partners were already building — quietly, methodically, and entirely outside of China’s reach.

Now in March, the company announced it’s fully financed to build the largest heavy rare earth metallization facility outside China, after its recently completed $50 million public offering.

The roughly $40 million facility will produce about 30 tonnes of dysprosium and 15 tonnes of terbium metal per year. These are the heavy rare earths that keep magnets working inside jet engines, missile guidance systems, and advanced drone platforms where failure is not an option.

But to understand why this is so critical in today’s rare earth shortage, you have to understand how Beijing set the trap years ago.

How China Built the Most Effective Trade Weapon on Earth

China did not simply stumble into its monopoly on rare earth processing. It was a three-decade strategy, executed with patience and precision while the West gave away its processing capabilities and barely looked back.

A bipartisan Congressional probe released in November 2025 laid out the playbook in detail.

Beijing hands “tens of billions of dollars, including zero-interest-rate loans” to state mining firms. It built a legal framework for controlling mineral prices. And whenever the West started to invest, China flooded global markets to crush it.

Committee Chairman John Moolenaar put it bluntly: “From cell phones to fighter jets, every American is dependent on minerals that China manipulates for its own selfish interests. As we saw last month with its rule on rare earths, China has a loaded gun that is pointed at our economy, and we must act quickly.”

The consequences have already shown up on factory floors. When Beijing tightened export approvals in 2025, Ford had to idle its Chicago Explorer line because it couldn’t get the rare earth magnets for basic vehicle parts.

The implications extend deep into the modern defense-tech stack. Firms like Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) are increasingly embedded in battlefield intelligence and logistics systems that depend on hardware built with rare earth inputs—meaning supply disruptions don’t just affect manufacturing, but the digital backbone of modern warfare itself.

That was a civilian automaker with some buffer. Defense supply chains run even tighter, with longer lead times and far less room to adjust. It’s not just heavy defense either. Companies such as Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ: AXON)—best known for its TASER systems and connected law enforcement platforms—rely on advanced electronics and components that ultimately trace back to the same constrained rare earth supply chain, tying everyday security infrastructure to the same geopolitical risks. And with the latest conflicts across the Middle East and beyond, the consequences are becoming more dire by the day.

What REalloys Built While The West Watched

Most of the rare earth industry spent years reacting as China pulled the strings. REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY), on the other hand, was doing something different: building.

The company’s operations in Euclid, Ohio, grew out of years of work with the U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Defense. While other players chased mining permits, REalloys focused on the harder problem: building the metal-making and alloying capabilities that turn processed rare earths into defense-grade inputs.

That meant working with suppliers, developing processing technology, training metallurgists, and qualifying output to military specs. That kind of work takes years, even when you know what you’re doing.

On the processing side, REalloys locked in an exclusive offtake covering 80% of the output from North America’s only heavy rare earth processing plant.

That facility is run by the Saskatchewan Research Council, which spent over 12 years working with rare earth clients at pilot and lab scale before breaking ground.

In 2020, Beijing passed export controls that blocked sales of rare earth processing technology to countries it didn’t consider allies. That should have killed the project.

Instead, the team built custom furnaces, automation systems, and separation chemistry from core physics and chemistry — requiring no Chinese technology transfer at any step.

What came out of that constraint surprised even the engineers. Because the team built the processing side from scratch rather than copying Chinese designs, the facility now runs on AI-driven controls that handle thousands of adjustments around the clock.

A comparable Chinese facility employs dozens of workers managing manual processes across an eight-hour shift. REalloys’ supply chain produces metals at higher purity with a fraction of the labor.

The Saskatchewan government funded it, construction began over five years ago, and REalloys’ exclusive agreement means the bulk of everything that plant produces flows to Ohio, where it becomes the finished alloys that defense contractors need.

Every step takes place on North American soil, with no Chinese technology, chemicals, or capital involved in any critical part of the chain.

Why Catching Up From Here Could Take Years, Not Months

The gap between REalloys and the rest of the Western world is wider than most people realize. And it’s not simply a matter of money.

Mining rare earths and processing them are completely different skills. The companies making headlines in this space are mostly miners. They know how to pull ore out of the ground.

But turning that ore into defense-grade metals requires dozens of chemical steps, each with hundreds of stages needing tight control. You can buy the best mining rights on the planet and still have no way to turn the rocks into something the Pentagon can use.

Some companies bought processing gear from China before the export controls hit. But even with the hardware, many still can’t run it properly because they bought equipment without the know-how to operate it.

The dependency on China goes deeper than just a lack of skills, though.

Chinese-made furnaces need graphite parts sourced only from Chinese makers, and those parts can wear out several times a week.

If your plant runs on Chinese hardware, you’re one supply cut away from going dark — no matter how much domestic ore you have sitting in a warehouse.

Tim Johnston, REalloys’ co-founder, puts the catch-up timeline at three to seven years for a credible competitor starting today.

That means building separation capabilities, developing oxide-to-metal conversion, qualifying with defense buyers, and doing all of it without Chinese technology or parts. REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) and their suppliers started that work more than a decade ago.

The Deadline That Changes the Math

All of this matters more now because of the regulatory clock that is about to run out.

On January 1, 2027, updated DFARS rules take effect, banning Chinese-origin rare earth materials from American weapons systems. The ban covers every stage: mining, refining, separation, melting, and fabrication.

Earlier loopholes let contractors melt Chinese oxides in a third country and call the output non-Chinese, but that workaround ends in 2027. The Pentagon is backing the rule with compliance checks on every covered contract, random spot-checks, and False Claims Act liability.

That means every company selling into the defense base will need a verified, non-Chinese source for rare earth metals and magnets. Meanwhile, defense innovators like AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) —a key supplier of unmanned systems used in modern conflicts—are operating at the sharp edge of this dependency, where access to high-performance materials directly determines production capacity, deployment timelines, and battlefield effectiveness.

Meanwhile, China’s own factories now use roughly 60% of their rare earth output for domestic EVs, wind turbines, and electronics.

Whatever surplus gets exported then moves through monthly licensing that Beijing adjusts depending on the political temperature. The IEA has flagged this as a core vulnerability for any country that depends on Chinese supply.

New Heavy Rare Earth Facility

REalloys’ recent announcement fills in the last piece of the puzzle. The company will use roughly $40 million from its recent offering to build the Heavy Rare Earth Metal Facility — delivering materials first assembled and tested in Saskatoon, then moved to REalloys’ Ohio operations.

From there, it’ll be available to serve U.S. defense customers and supply Defense Logistics Agency stockpiles. First operations are aiming for early-to-mid 2027, with full commercial scale expected by mid-to-late 2027.

REalloys expects to receive roughly 400 tonnes of defense-grade rare earth metals per year once the processing facility reaches full production, scaling to about 600 tonnes by 2028-29.

Washington has signaled their confidence in REalloys’ capabilities too: the U.S. EXIM Bank issued a $200 million letter of intent to support the company’s broader supply chain development

That’s in addition to their contract worth up to $1.7 million announced by the Department of Defense to fund the design of a processing facility to produce metals for weapons and electronics

Now, as the company approaches Phase 2, it plans to target an annual output of about 18,000 tonnes of heavy rare earth permanent magnets.

As the West finally faces the consequences of relying on China for these critical resources, strategic moves like those by REalloys may help America close the gap.

Here’s the honest picture: China will still process the bulk of the world’s rare earths for years to come. The goal was never to take half the market from Beijing. After three decades of state-backed dominance, that isn’t realistic on such a short timeline.

The goal is to lock in enough non-Chinese capacity to keep the Western defense base running on its own and give the U.S. real leverage where it has none today. REalloys is one of a small number of companies working with the U.S. government to achieve this goal.

That required someone to start building before the rare earths crisis made it obvious, and to keep building through every cycle where Chinese pricing threatened it.

REalloys appeared to see this crisis coming years ago. With their recent funding news, the path from plan to production is fully paid for — and the 2027 deadline is now less than ten months away.

By. Charles Kennedy

 

"Energy Dominance" In Action

Middle East crisis has made the U.S. the marginal supplier

A VLCC in ballast arrives at Port of Corpus Christi (file image courtesy Port of Corpus Christi)

Published Apr 17, 2026 7:38 PM by Erik Broekhuizen / Poten & Partners

 

The crisis in the Middle East and in particular the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has upended global oil markets. Both crude oil and refined products are now in short supply. Refiners around the world are desperate to get their hands on alternative sources of crude oil, almost at any price. However, the options are limited and dwindling. The volume of Russian and Iranian oil in floating storage is shrinking fast since the U.S. has lifted some of its restrictions, allowing countries to buy these previously sanctioned barrels. Several countries have tapped into their strategic petroleum reserves, but most of this oil is being allocated to domestic refiners and not traded internationally. So, the focus has shifted to the Atlantic Basin, where several producers (Venezuela, Canada, Brazil) have some capability to ramp up production and exports. However, in this Weekly Tanker Opinion we want to highlight the United States.

The United States is by far the largest oil producer in the world. In 2018 it surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia due to advancements in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling. U.S. crude oil exports, which (re)started in earnest after the crude export ban was lifted about 10 years ago, quickly ramped up from 500,000 barrels per day in early 2016 to average more than 4.0 Mb/d in 2023 and 2024. According to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday, exports climbed to 5.2 million bpd, the highest in seven months. This was due to record demand from Asian and European buyers, who are scrambling to replace barrels from the Middle East that are trapped inside the Persian Gulf because of the war.

U.S. crude oil exporters are expanding their reach. Greece has bought U.S. crude for the first time ever, while Turkey bought a cargo for the first time in a year. The one limitation that could cap the U.S. export potential is the specifications of the U.S. crude. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main U.S. export, is a light sweet crude, while the refiners are trying to replace medium sour barrels from the Middle East. Mars crude is a medium sour grade produced in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, but its production volumes are limited.

At the same time as exports surged, U.S. crude imports took a dive. Imports from Canada were at their lowest level for this year. Flows from Saudi Arabia and Iraq were down significantly as well, for obvious reasons. As a result, net imports of crude oil (the difference between imports and exports), narrowed to 66,000 barrels per day last week, the lowest on record in weekly data that goes back to 2001. This means that the U.S. nearly turned into a net crude exporter last week for the first time since World War II. Exports are expected to increase significantly in the coming weeks and this switch to a net exporter could become reality.

However, as a result of this ramp up in flows, the U.S. is approaching its export capacity. The U.S. is capable to export up to 6.0 Mb/d, according to estimates from industry experts. Pipeline capacity and export infrastructure are the limiting factors. U.S. exporters have become very adept at maximizing exports with a combination of direct loadings in U.S. Gulf ports and reverse lightering in designated areas offshore. However, outside of Corpus Christi, which can partially load a VLCC (only one reverse lightering needed), the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) is the only U.S. facility in the U.S. Gulf that can fully load a VLCC. More deepwater terminals are being planned, but none are available during this crisis.

U.S. refiners have also ramped up production and exports, motivated by strong refining margins and high crack spreads. In recent weeks, we have seen seaborne clean product exports (excluding LPG, lubes and chemicals) exceed 3.5 Mb/d driven by increased flows to Asia. These volumes represent record-highs.

The booming crude oil and refined product exports from the U.S. have benefited all tanker segments. The desire to get access to barrels (and get them quickly) has motivated certain Asian charterers to import crude from the U.S. Gulf on Aframaxes, routing it via the Panama Canal. These are not trades you would expect to see in normal circumstances, but these are not normal circumstances. When the conflict ends, vessels will reposition and eventually normal trade patterns will resume. Until that time, we do expect increased volatility and higher freight rates for most tanker segments to continue.

This research note appears courtesy of Poten & Partners.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

Riding the LNG Wave

File image courtesy Venture Global LNG

Published Apr 17, 2026 11:42 PM by Sean Hogue

(Article originally published in Jan/Feb 2026 edition.)

 

The age of global LNG is upon us.

In the latter half of 2025, the global supply increased nearly seven percent. This came largely from North America, which frankly has LNG down to a science. It's abundant here. We know how to extract it in an environmentally conscious manner, and we have the infrastructure to process, store and move it.

New U.S. LNG projects reaching final investment decisions in 2025 included Louisiana LNG, Corpus Christi Trains 8 & 9, CP2 phase 1, Rio Grande LNG Train 4 and Port Arthur Phase 2. This new wave further solidifies the U.S.'s position as the world's largest LNG supplier with global market share expected to increase from about 25 percent last year to 33 percent by the end of the decade.

The rise in supply is expected to drive increased global demand in 2026, primarily from Asia, but also from other global markets as they invest in infrastructure to effectively import this clean, abundant energy source.

And as LNG produces 30 percent less CO? than heavy fuel oil and nearly zero sulfur oxides, it's the cleanest of fossil fuels and an ideal choice for meeting emissions targets over the next decade.

Although achieving that goal is not without its challenges.

Class guidance

In ABS's 2025 Sustainability Outlook, "Vision Meets Reality," the authors rightly note that "from a total cost of ownership perspective, clean fuels currently present a weak economic case due to their high costs and limited availability." And while clean fuels such as ammonia may play a role in the energy transition, they're unlikely to achieve significant decarbonization by 2040.

Conversely, LNG offers lower base costs and an established supply chain, contributing to its being specified in over 70 percent of alternative-fuel newbuild orders.

The cruise, ro/ro, car-carrying and container industries have widely adopted alternative fuels over conventional ones. As ABS has become the largest classification society by gross tonnage in service as of 2025 while maintaining a strong presence in the tanker, gas carrier and containership sectors, it stands perfectly positioned to guide shipowners in their transition journey.

Lloyds Register (LR) is another source of expert advice to vessel operators in their energy transition journey.

The energy transition challenge is really a risk management problem. What fuel to choose? What equipment to purchase? Which ones will be readily available long term with the global infrastructure to support them?

LR's approach is not prescriptive – it remains firmly fuel agnostic. The company has invested significantly in the study of all alternative fuels including its involvement in the Methane Abatement in Maritime Innovation Initiative. This collaboration, led by Safetytech Accelerator, unites industry leaders, tech innovators and maritime stakeholders working together toward the goal of significantly reducing methane emissions from LNG use as a marine fuel.

"Methane slip," as it's known, is the release of unburned methane into the atmosphere from engines using natural gas or liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel. It occurs when combustion isn't 100 percent efficient. Because methane is a potent greenhouse gas (over 25 times stronger than CO? over 100 years), minimizing slip is crucial for climate change mitigation.

A significant milestone for LR is the recent renewal surveys and drydocks for P&O Cruises' Iona and Carnival Cruise Line's Mardi Gras – the first major LNG drydocks for large passenger vessels in Europe. The work represented the execution of a highly sophisticated technical program, the culmination of more than a year of detailed collaboration, planning and risk management.

Drydocking a LNG-fueled cruise ship is a fundamentally different exercise from a conventional refit. With vessels spending only a brief period out of service, LNG system maintenance windows are correspondingly narrow.

"Starting 18 months in advance," explains Andrew Bennett, Machinery Survey Policy Manager in LR's Technical Directorate, "we worked closely with the client to understand their specific operation, maintenance and drydocking challenges and helped them develop detailed schedules with optimized surveys agreed in advance and aligned to meet their requirements."

Bunkering Expertise

Running on LNG requires a bunkering infrastructure to support the operation.

Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, TOTE Services is playing a critical role in bringing LNG fuel to the maritime sector through their design and construction of the bunker barges Clean Jacksonville and Clean Everglades, operated by Seaside LNG.

The Clean Jacksonville was the first membrane LNG barge in the world. Membrane technology provides a better space-to-weight ratio and replaces the older, pressure vessel technology used previously for storage and transport. TOTE has completed over 400 bunkering operations with the Clean Jacksonville since it was first launched.

Another newbuild support vessel entering the market in 2025 was the Soaring Eagle, an inland tug operated by Colonial Towing, a subsidiary of the Colonial Group. It will operate as part of an articulated tug-and-barge unit transporting up to 32,000 barrels of fuel products between Charleston, South Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida. Soaring Eagle is the fourth vessel to join the current active fleet of Colonial Towing.

Also in Florida, Glander International Bunkering is making moves with a recent change of leadership. Michael Cammarata replaced long-time Managing Director Larry Messina, who retired after 34 years of service. Cammarata has spent his entire career in bunkering, having joined the company back in 1988.

As such, he brings decades of experience and deep market insight into his role. He also brings strong relationships across the industry. His appointment ensures continuity for the Florida office. It also supports future growth and long-term success.

Global FIDs

We've looked at the U.S.-based projects. But what about the rest of the world?

Chevron's Gorgon LNG project received a $2 billion final investment decision at the end of 2025 to develop Stage 3 off Australia's northwest coast. The development will be used as backfill for the existing LNG export operation and will link the offshore Geryon and Eurytion natural gas fields to Gorgon's existing infrastructure on Barrow Island.

In Gorgon Stage 3, six wells will be drilled across two fields, part of a series of planned subsea tiebacks.

Shell's plans for drilling at the Crux field, also offshore northern Australia, were accepted around the same time. Crux's gas will be sent as backfill to the Prelude floating LNG vessel, the world's largest.

In southern Australia, U.S. oil company ConocoPhillips has just finished its first exploration well in the region and will now move to a nearby location for a second well.

Chevron also made a final investment decision early in January to expand Israel's Leviathan natural gas field, a move that will significantly boost gas production in the eastern Mediterranean. The decision comes weeks after Israel finalized what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as the largest energy deal in the country's history – a long-term gas export agreement with Egypt valued at about 112 billion shekels, roughly $35 billion.

The Leviathan expansion provides the upstream capacity needed to support those larger export commitments over time. Chevron operates Leviathan alongside Israeli partners. When the expanded project comes online later this decade, it will further help entrench Israel's role as a regional gas supplier.

A strong outlook

With new projects sanctioned, infrastructure expanding, and class, operators and bunkering providers aligned around practical risk management, the LNG market enters 2026 with strong momentum.

Growth will be in delivered capacity, proven technology and real-world operating experience. As demand accelerates and standards continue to evolve, LNG is positioned to remain the cornerstone of global marine and energy growth through the next decade.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

 

Pacific Basin Cancels Methanol Vessels Due to Climate-Rules Uncertainty

Illustration courtesy Pacific Basin

Published Apr 17, 2026 3:37 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

Pacific Basin Shipping, one of the world's largest operators of dry bulk vessels, is partially abandoning plans to anchor its future fleet growth on green methanol after terminating a contract for four dual-fuel Ultramax newbuilds.

As one of the world's leading owners and operators of Handysize, Supramax and Ultramax dry bulk vessels, Pacific Basin operates around 250 ships, of which over 100 are owned and the rest chartered. Four years ago, the Hong Kong-based shipping company said it was putting green methanol at the center of its ambitions to build zero-emission vessels. In November 2024, it went ahead and placed its first order for the construction of four 64,000 dwt dual-fuel vessels at Nihon Shipyard Co. through Mitsui & Co.

In a reversal announced April 16, the company announced it had reached agreements with the two yards to terminate the contract for the four vessels and convert the agreements into a purchase of four conventional Ultramax newbuilds, with an option for two more. In making the decision, Pacific Basin cited renewed uncertainty around the timing and final shape of a global regulatory framework designed to drive the green fuel transition.

Converting the deal from dual-fuel to conventional vessels means the company will spend $39.2 million for each of the vessels ($156.8 million cumulatively) as opposed to spending $45.4 million each on the methanol ships ($181.6 million cumulatively). The vessels are expected to be delivered between 2028 and mid-2029.

Despite altering the deal, the company highlighted that the agreement with Mitsui & Co. includes an option to acquire two 64,000 dwt dual-fuel (methanol/fuel oil) Ultramax newbuilds at a cost of $45.5 million each ($91 million in total) with delivery expected between April 2030 and March 2031.

Pacific Basin said that the decision is a financially prudent response to uncertainty around the timing and final shape of the Net-Zero Framework (NZF), the IMO proposal designed to create a global standard for shipping decarbonization. In October last year, International Maritime Organization member states failed to adopt the previously agreed-upon framework owing to political divisions. Members voted to adjourn discussions for one year, and the mechanism's future is uncertain. 

Though Pacific Basin expects some form of a NZF-type global mechanism to be adopted eventually, the company sees a better deal for its shareholders if it avoids a near-term investment in expensive dual-fuel vessels. 

"The disciplined renewal and growth of our fleet with modern, efficient ships is a core priority for Pacific Basin so that we can continue to meet strong customer demand, comply with tightening fuel-efficiency regulations, increase our market outperformance and deliver long-term shareholder value," said Martin Fruergaard, Pacific Basin CEO.

He added that while the newbuild commitments align well with that priority, the importance of having vessels with super-efficient designs cannot be overstated in the current high-fuel-cost environment.

Pacific Basin has also placed another order for two 40,000 dwt Handysize newbuilds at a cost of $59.6 million. The ships, in addition to an order for two placed last year, will be built at China's Jiangmen Nanyang Ship Engineering Co. yard and are expected to be delivered in the second half of 2028.