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Article

Environmental and Economic Assessment of Alternative Marine Fuels for Bulk Carriers: A Comparative Analysis of Handymax, Panamax and Supramax Vessels

by
Georgios Charvalos
1,*,
Athanasios Tzakis
1,
Angelos Arvanitis
1,
Sofia Peppa
2 and
Christos Papadopoulos
1
1
School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece
2
Department of Naval Architecture, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2025, 13(9), 1757; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13091757
Submission received: 31 July 2025 / Revised: 3 September 2025 / Accepted: 4 September 2025 / Published: 11 September 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable and Efficient Maritime Operations)
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Abstract

In the present paper, a quantitative assessment of the effect of alternative fuel (LNG, LPG-B, LPG-P and MeOH) implementation in internal combustion engines in bulk carrier vessels on environmental compliance is presented. A fleet comprising 40 vessels across the Handymax, Panamax and Supramax classes is examined. By using LNG, the total fleet achieves environmental compliance up to 2030, with 52.5% of the fleet potentially achieving a minor superior energy ranking, while the EU ETS costs can be reduced by up to 24% compared to the case of burning conventional fuels. LPG-B and LPG-P demonstrated moderate improvements in the compliance period, with 50% to 87.5% and 52.5% to 97.5% surviving up to 2030, respectively. Reductions in the EU ETS costs were similar for these two fuels, with the reductions ranging from 3.3% to 12.1% for LPG-B and from 4.1% to 15.2% for LPG-P. Among all fuels, methanol showed the least improvement in extending the compliance period, with 52.5% to 67.5% of the fleet reaching 2030 with inferior to moderate CII ranks. The EU ETS cost reductions were low, ranging from 2.7% to 10%, with substantial fuel cost increases from 29.9% to 107%. The present study aims to assist ship owners/operators by providing a decision-support tool for bulk carrier alternative fuel pathways. Finally, it provides insights into the marine industry and shipping market regarding the future of the bulk carrier fleet in the context of decarbonization.
Keywords: decarbonization; bulk carriers; alternative fuels; CII; EU ETS; LNG; methanol; LPG decarbonization; bulk carriers; alternative fuels; CII; EU ETS; LNG; methanol; LPG

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MDPI and ACS Style

Charvalos, G.; Tzakis, A.; Arvanitis, A.; Peppa, S.; Papadopoulos, C. Environmental and Economic Assessment of Alternative Marine Fuels for Bulk Carriers: A Comparative Analysis of Handymax, Panamax and Supramax Vessels. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2025, 13, 1757. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13091757

AMA Style

Charvalos G, Tzakis A, Arvanitis A, Peppa S, Papadopoulos C. Environmental and Economic Assessment of Alternative Marine Fuels for Bulk Carriers: A Comparative Analysis of Handymax, Panamax and Supramax Vessels. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. 2025; 13(9):1757. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13091757

Chicago/Turabian Style

Charvalos, Georgios, Athanasios Tzakis, Angelos Arvanitis, Sofia Peppa, and Christos Papadopoulos. 2025. "Environmental and Economic Assessment of Alternative Marine Fuels for Bulk Carriers: A Comparative Analysis of Handymax, Panamax and Supramax Vessels" Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 13, no. 9: 1757. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13091757

APA Style

Charvalos, G., Tzakis, A., Arvanitis, A., Peppa, S., & Papadopoulos, C. (2025). Environmental and Economic Assessment of Alternative Marine Fuels for Bulk Carriers: A Comparative Analysis of Handymax, Panamax and Supramax Vessels. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 13(9), 1757. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13091757

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