The Fortescue Green Pioneer sails in Singapore harbor on ammonia fuel

Fuel transfer performed at Jurong Island

Fortescue Future Industries, Maritime and Port Authority Singapore and a host of supporting organisations announced a world-first marine trial in Singapore harbor last week. The Fortescue Green Pioneer sailed on ammonia and diesel dual-fuel in harbor waters, after being loaded with liquid ammonia fuel at Vopak’s Banyan Terminal on Jurong Island. As a result, the Fortescue Green Pioneer has received flag approval from the Singapore Registry of Ships and the “Gas Fuelled Ammonia” notation by DNV.

Australia and Singapore are nations for whom the seas are our lifeblood and Fortescue has seen firsthand the willingness of Singapore to lead the world in taking brave, innovative action to build green ammonia shipping…as I did at COP 28 in Dubai, I am once again calling on the world’s ports to get on with setting fair, safe and stringent fuel standards for green ammonia and not shy away from their responsibilities simply because of a lack of character.

Andrew Forrest, Chairman of Fortescue in his organisation’s official press release, 15 Mar 2024

Two year vessel development

Starting in 2022, Fortescue began work on converting four-stroke engines onboard the vessel to run on ammonia-diesel dual fuel at its R&D facility in Perth, Western Australia. In July 2023, installation of the gas fuel delivery system, safety systems and infrastructure, and complete conversion of two of the vessel’s four engines occurred at Seatrium’s shipyard in Singapore. In December 2023 the vessel sailed to the COP28 conference in Dubai on conventional fuel, but was unable to operate on ammonia fuel due to local restrictions.

Months of careful preparations & training

In preparation for the trial, a series of rigorous safety and training activities have been ongoing since late 2023:

• Hazard Identification Study and Hazard and Operability Study workshops were jointly conducted, helping identify the potential risks during fuel transfer and engine trials and to develop the necessary prevention, control, and mitigation measures.
• Ammonia Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) training and Safety Management System Familiarisation were both conducted with the crew of the Fortescue Green Pioneer throughout October 2023.
• Gas Firefighting training (Singapore Civil Defence Force) and Handling Ammonia as a Fuel (Singapore Maritime Academy) courses were delivered at Singapore Polytechnic from September 2023 to January 2024.
• Multiple safety drills were conducted by MPA onboard the Fortescue Green Pioneer in November 2023 and January 2024, testing responses developed in the HAZID/HAZOP workshops.
• An “Ammonia Plume Model” was developed by a local research consortium to determine the safety envelope and model the dispersion of an ammonia plume in the event of an accidental release.

The trial itself was conducted in phases over seven weeks. PPE for crew members included chemical protection suits, nitrile chemical gloves, rubber boots, positive pressure mask and hood, and portable gas detectors for the relevant operations.

NOx within-regulations

MPA and Fortescue report that post-combustion nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels during the trial met local air quality standards for Singapore. As a next step, the pair will focus on reducing the amount of pilot fuel for combustion and post-combustion treatment of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions.

Ammonia fuel loading

From Vopak’s Banyan Terminal on Jurong Island, three tons of liquid ammonia was transferred to the vessel using existing infrastructure. In the coming weeks, MPA intends for a second fuel transfer to take place. Vopal has already earmarked Banyan for upgrades to enable the bunkering of marine ammonia fuel.

Following the world’s first ship-to-containership methanol bunkering operation in Singapore in July 2023 and the implementation of digital bunkering operations from November 2023, the successful conduct of this ammonia fuel trial on board the Fortescue Green Pioneer marks a significant milestone in Singapore’s multi-fuel bunkering capability development to support the digitalisation, decarbonisation, and manpower development for international shipping. The collective support provided for such trials also demonstrates the facilitative regulatory environment, and the strong research and tripartite ecosystem in Singapore to support the conduct of trials and scale-up operations for new maritime fuels.

From MPA Singapore’s official press release, 15 March 2024

The safe conduct of this fuel trial supports the holistic assessment of the use of ammonia as a marine fuel, and the development of standards and safety procedures. This will inform the crew training, emergency and bunkering procedures which MPA, agencies and the tripartite community are developing in support of making available safe and cost-efficient solutions as MaritimeSG and the international shipping community undergo the energy transition.

Teo Eng Dih, Chief Executive at MPA Singapore in his organisation’s official press release, 15 March 2024

Working closely with both teams over the last two years, we have undertaken a rigorous technology qualification process to ensure the safety and performance of the ammonia fuel systems and engine retrofit. The successful culmination of this project reflects Fortescue and MPA’s commitment to drive innovation and cooperation in the industry, a vision that we share at DNV as we help our customers achieve their decarbonization objectives.

Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, Regional Manager South East Asia, Pacific & India, Maritime, DNV in MPA Singapore’s official  press release, 15 March 2024

Vopak takes great pride in our role as ammonia storage and handling specialists, facilitating the historic first-in-kind ammonia transfer for fuel purposes…Decarbonising the value chains of energy and end products will be a long-term journey with many stages and our customers and partners can count on Vopak’s proven expertise and assets as we progress alongside Singapore towards a sustainable future.

Rob Boudestijn, President, Business Unit Singapore, Vopak in MPA Singapore’s official  press release, 15 March 2024