NYK Line completes successful truck-to-ship ammonia bunkering
By on July 25, 2024
A-Tug fueled in Yokohama port
Click to learn more. Successful truck-to-ship refueling of the A-Tug was completed this July in Yokohama. Source: NYK Line.
On July 17, successful truck-to-ship ammonia bunkering was completed at the Port of Yokohama. Moored at Honmoku Wharf, the tugboat Sakigake (known as the “A-Tug”) was refueled from a shoreside tanker truck with ammonia. The initial ammonia was supplied by Resonac Corporation, and produced at Resonac’s Kawasaki plant, partially using recycled plastics as one of the raw feedstocks. After the vessel’s delivery next month, fuel ammonia will be supplied by JERA.
NYK, JERA and Resonac have been planning the bunkering operation since December 2023. With the truck-to-ship bunkering completed, the A-Tug will now undergo sea trials, with commercial operations to follow in the coming months. The vessel will be operated in Yokohama harbor by charterer Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha.
Bunkering firsts in 2024
The news adds to a list of ammonia bunkering firsts in 2024:
- To mimic future bunker transfers, Navigator Gas successfully performed its first ship-to-ship transfer of ammonia in South Africa, transferring 25,300 tons to the Navigator Jorf carrier.
- And the Fortescue Green Pioneer received 3 tons of ammonia fuel from Vopak’s Banyan Island terminal, refueling the vessel during harbor trials in Singapore.
Trafigura also completed its first ship-to-ship transfer of ammonia (6,000 tons) in the Straits of Gibraltar last month – an operation designed to mimic the transfer of ammonia cargo from larger to smaller vessels for delivery to the destination.