Nihon Shipyards

Eastern Pacific Shipping’s on-order very large ammonia carriers (VLACs) will be registered in Singapore, thanks to a new partnership with the Maritime and Port Authority. Trafigura has announced the first of its ammonia-fueled, medium gas carriers will be delivered from South Korea in 2027. In Japan, K LINE and MAN are leading a 5-party collaboration to develop ammonia fueled-engines and deploy them in 200,000 dwt bulk carriers. We also explore ammonia-fueled Aframaxes in Malaysia, a concept study for a large-volume, coastal ammonia carrier in Japan, and a new salmon fishing vessel design in Norway.

An NYK-led consortium, which includes Japan Engine Corporation, IHI Power Systems and Nihon Shipyard, has announced that a construction contract has been signed with Japan Marine United to build its 40,000 m³ ammonia-fueled medium gas carrier (AFMGC) in Ariake. The vessel is due to be delivered in November 2026.

Singapore-based Ocean Network Express has signed contracts with two ship-builders for construction of five ammonia-ready VLCCs each (ten total), to be delivered in 2025. In Japan, NYK Line, IHI Power Systems and ClassNK will develop, deliver and fuel an ammonia-powered tugboat for the City of Yokohama, with the vessel to be delivered and working in the port in 2024.

Welcome to the Ammonia Wrap: a summary of all the latest announcements, news items and publications about ammonia energy. This week: latest report from NoGAPS, Viking Energy project takes another step, more collaborations for Yara, thyssenkrupp to invest in cracking R&D, investment in clean hydrogen technology in the USA, world-first visualisation of ammonia combustion in a spark-ignition engine and our numbers of the week.