Historically, natural gas trade predominantly relied on pipelines; however, recently transporting it via ships has gained popularity. By 2020, ship transportation surpassed pipelines, with over 56% (540 billion cubic meters) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) being transported by ships in 2022. LNG is made by cooling fracked natural gas to −162°C, reducing it to 1/600th of its original volume, facilitating safe and efficient transportation via non-pressurized storage, making it most suitable for international shipping. Studies indicate that LNG becomes more cost-effective as transport distance increases. Generally, shipping LNG becomes cheaper than off-shore pipelines for distances beyond 700 miles (~1127km), while the threshold is 2,200 miles (~3,541km) for on-shore pipelines. The shift from pipelines to ships is likely driven by the expansion of LNG exports from the US and Qatar, which primarily export across seas, despite European countries being well-connected by land and possessing a vast network of pipelines like the Nord Stream, Blue Stream and TurkStream. Europe, a significant LNG importer, plans to expand its LNG terminals and gas pipelines, increasing the region's total gas import capacity by 55% at an investment of €84.1B ($90.57B), widening existing overcapacity.