A series of new AiPs underlines momentum for marine ammonia fuel. For bunkering, barges and a range of jetty-less transfer terminals will enable safe operations. Fuel systems that can be retrofitted to existing vessels are also under development, as is an ammonia-powered “feeder” container vessel to complement larger designs.
Approval of interim guidelines for the use of maritime ammonia fuel is anticipated at an upcoming IMO committee meeting in December, giving the shipping industry its first international standard for the safe operation of vessels using marine ammonia fuel.
The American Bureau of Shipping has awarded AiP to a new ammonia bunkering articulated tug-barge design. The bunker barge will be compatible with several ammonia-powered vessels under development, and will begin commercial operations on the US east coast by 2030.
Led by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, a consortium has successfully executed a ship-to-ship ammonia transfer in outer anchorage, simulating ammonia bunker fuel operations within a port for the first time.
The biennial SMM event in Hamburg featured a number of ammonia announcements from across the entire fuel value chain, including deployment timelines for MAN’s two-stroke engines, high-pressure fuel pumps, bunker and container ship designs, and technology integration partnerships.
NYK has announced that the tugboat Sakigake has been completed, and will enter three months of commercial trials in Yokohama harbor and Tokyo Bay. Thanks to retrofits, Japan’s first LNG-fueled vessel has now become Japan’s first ammonia-fueled vessel.
A new Scandinavian collaboration aims to transform Risavika and the wider Stavanger region as a bunkering hub for ammonia fuel, supplied by Iverson eFuels’ hydro-ammonia production project in Sauda.
The FuelEU Maritime Regulation is set to launch on August 31, requiring companies to submit monitoring plans ahead of its full implementation in January 2025. With modest initial targets and sophisticated compliance mechanisms like banking, borrowing, and pooling, the scheme offers flexibility while driving innovation in sustainable maritime technologies. The scheme also offers extra incentives for companies to proactively embrace Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBOs), before mandates enter into force next decade.
Two potential consortia have been selected to develop and operate an ammonia power generation and bunkering pilot on Jurong Island, Singapore. Either Keppel Infrastructure or Sembcorp-SLNG will be selected to lead the project, which will feature a 60 MW, direct ammonia-fed gas turbine, linked to a 100,000 ton ammonia bunkering facility.
Moored in Yokohama Port, the A-Tug was refueled from a shoreside tanker truck with ammonia earlier this month. The ammonia for the demonstration was supplied by Resonac Corporation, and ammonia fuel is to be supplied by JERA once the vessel is delivered for commercial operations in the coming months.