BOOK REVIEW | The Gas Carrier Register 2021

This seems to be the last of the series of Clarkson’s register books to be reviewed here in 2021. Last, that is, but not least.

It is also the thinnest of the registers reviewed but it is certainly not the least important. While LNG, LPG and other liquefied gases are constantly disparaged as redundant fossil fuels by the wider “green” zealot movement, this reviewer believes that they will be fuelling the wider world for many more decades.

This belief is borne out by the data contained in this very important annual review. That Clarkson Research Services data are, of course, comprehensive, accurate and the best available, is a generally accepted fact. It clearly shows that, despite substantial Covid-19 disruption, the global market for these expensive gas-carrying ships continued to grow during 2020. As is so often the case, “green” dogma has failed to accord with the facts. Gases, particularly petroleum-sourced gases, will continue to be carried around the world in very large quantities for the foreseeable future.

Other than its very important analysis and review of the overall gas carrier market, The Gas Carrier Register provides a very useful list of all the world’s gas carrier fleets and their owners. It is a triumph of comprehensive, careful and continuing research.

Available from Clarkson Research Services, London, UK.

Web: www.crsl.com.

 


Neil Baird

Co-founder and former Editor-in-Chief of Baird Maritime and Work Boat World magazine, Neil has travelled the length and breadth of this planet in over 40 years in the business. He knows the global work boat industry better than anyone.