Trump’s LNG push is helping power German green cruise liner boom

President Donald Trump’s bid to dump a glut of liquefied natural gas on Europe is getting an unlikely boost: stringent regulations on shipping emissions that are prompting the continent’s shipyards to hunt for alternatives to high-polluting diesel.

The International Maritime Organization will clamp down next year on sulfur and carbon emissions from diesel-powered ships. That’s sparked a hunt for less-polluting fuels, with the global glut in LNG luring European cruise and non-cargo lines to turn to the fuel. And it’s benefiting shipyards in Germany, home to the world’s largest merchant navy fleet, which are tapping a booming cruise industry.

“Germany can’t make LNG cruise ships fast enough — we’re top of the shop right now,” said Ralf Soeren Marquardt, managing director of the VSM German shipbuilders federation, on the phone from Hamburg last week. “Special shipbuilding in which Germany led for so long is getting a huge boost.”