LONDON (Bloomberg) ? Excess capacity in the global fleet of liquefied natural gas carriers will be at its highest this decade in 2008, as a growing worldwide fleet results in lower utilisation rates, according to Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd.

Demand for LNG tankers "has deteriorated markedly as a result of a large increase in fleet supply," partly caused by speculative orders for new ships, John Meagher, an analyst for Edinburgh-based Wood Mackenzie, said in an e-mailed reply to questions yesterday.

Utilisation of the LNG fleet will fall to 77.4 percent in 2008, almost 13 percentage points lower than at the beginning of the decade, Wood Mackenzie's data showed. Falling utilisation hurts revenue for companies such as Oslo-based Bergesen Worldwide Gas ASA, the world's biggest gas shipper, and Golar LNG Ltd. of Hamilton, Bermuda.

Rising earnings for operating LNG tankers have encouraged some shipowners to order vessels without first having them assigned to particular projects. Improved productivity in the existing fleet has also added to the surplus capacity, Meagher said.

The growth in the surplus is already slowing because supply disruptions from Indonesia are forcing Japan, the world's largest LNG importer, to source shipments from further away, tying up ships for longer periods, he said.

The global fleet of liquefied natural gas carriers will expand 16 percent by the first quarter of 2007, according to Oslo-based shipbrokers R.S. Platou a.s.