Ammonia bunkering in California

By Julian Atchison on April 09, 2024

Consortium to explore bunkering in Oakland, Benicia

CALAMCO’s existing ammonia storage facilities at the Port of Stockton.

Click to learn more. Utilising CALAMCO’s existing ammonia storage facilities at the Port of Stockton, a consortium plans to demonstrate ammonia bunkering on the US west coast for the first time. Source: CALAMCO.

The American Bureau of Shipping, Fleet Management Limited, Sumitomo Corporation and TOTE Services have announced a partnership with CALAMCO, California’s largest distributor of ammonia. Together, they will study the feasibility of ship-to-ship bunkering at the Ports of Oakland and Benicia, leveraging CALAMCO’s existing ammonia import and storage terminal at the Port of Stockton.

If feasible, the consortium plans a pilot demonstration. Utilising CALAMCO’s storage terminal at Stockton, ship-to-ship ammonia bunkering will be provided for car carriers calling at the Port of Benicia and container vessels calling at the Port of Oakland.

As one of the few ammonia storage & handling facilities in the geographical area, CALAMCO is well positioned to serve the growing needs of the maritime industry. CALAMCO has many years of safe and efficient operational experience at the Port of Stockton.

Dan Stone, President at CALAMCO, in Sumitomo’s official press release, 29 Mar 2024

We are pleased to lend our technical expertise to this important clean ammonia study, which ultimately aims to facilitate carbon-free trade between the Far East and the US West Coast. Our focus on designing dual fuel vessels and implementing safe and reliable ammonia bunkering has positioned us well in recent years. We have also collaborated closely with our ship-owning clients, providing support in the development of ammonia bunkering vessels, as well as ammonia-fuelled container vessels and bulk carriers.

Kishore Rajvanshy, Managing Director at Fleet Management Limited, in Sumitomo’s official press release, 29 Mar 2024

We embark on our ambition to build the first Ship to Ship ammonia bunkering base in the US West Coast in addition to Singapore, Oman and the US East Coast, which highlight our commitment to offer our customers the best available and technologically proven solution to reduce the emission footprint from maritime transport.

Koji Endo, General Manager of Energy Division at Sumitomo Corporation, in his organisation’s official press release, 29 Mar 2024

The Ports of Oakland, Benicia and Stockton on the US west coast

Click to learn more. The consortium is targeting ship-to-ship ammonia bunkering in the Ports of Oakland and Benicia on the US west coast, utilising existing ammonia storage at the Port of Stockton. Source: Sumitomo.

ABS will conduct risk assessments for ammonia ship-to-ship bunkering, and lead coordination with relevant authorities to establish port regulations and operational guidelines. CALAMCO will explore loading operations from its Stockton terminal onto an Ammonia Bunkering Articulated Tug-Barge (AB-ATB), a vessel which will be designed and developed by Fleet Management Limited and TOTE Services. Sumitomo will coordinate an end-to-end supply chain of ammonia fuel, which includes sourcing and transportation.

West coast, East coast

Sumitomo is currently engaged in two other ammonia bunkering projects on the US east coast: one in Jacksonville, and one in Savannah (ABS, Fleet Management Services and TOTE are also involved in the Savannah project). In Oman, Sumitomo is working with OQ, Asyad Group and A.P. Moller – Maersk to explore ammonia and methanol bunkering in two key Ports: Duqm and Salalah.