2025 is a critical year for the adoption of ammonia fuel in shipping. Here, we preview important upcoming meetings of the International Maritime Organization, what regulatory gaps are being filled by this work, potential candidates for decarbonization measures, and progress in engine development. All this sets the scene for incredible progress to be made in the coming years.
With commercial deployment scheduled to start this June, both WinGD and MAN ES’s under-development ammonia fueled engines have reported promising results across performance, ammonia safety and emissions optimisation parameters. MAN ES and MITSUI have also commenced a commercial-scale prototype test of the MITSUI-MAN ES large-bore, low-speed, two-stroke ammonia engine in Tamano, Japan.
Following a time-charter agreement between the two companies, NYK will deliver an ammonia-fueled medium gas carrier to Yara Clean Ammonia in November 2026.
In 2025, the pieces are rapidly assembling to enable and accelerate imports of ammonia energy to Japan. This year, government agency METI is due to announce two lots of key funding, including contracts for difference subsidies and development of import infrastructure. Power generation technologies will be commercialised within the next few years, and more maritime players are joining the push to deploy ammonia fuel in Japanese ships.
Starting in mid-2027, Norwegian timber exporter Viken AT Market will move part of its timber transport operations to a brand-new hybrid vessel that will run on electricity and ammonia fuel. Vessel developer Skarv Shipping has multiple ammonia-fueled vessels on order from Chinese shipyard Huanghai Shipbuilding.
In Japan, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment will invest $212 million in the domestic manufacture of ammonia engines, fuel tanks and components. In Korea, the national Export-Import Bank has committed to supporting ammonia-fueled newbuilds.
To explore the interim fuel guidelines and discuss their implications, we were joined by the IMO and Lloyd’s Register. Properly applied, the new fuel guidelines will ensure that ammonia systems achieve safety standards comparable to those of LNG or other alternative fuel systems, with special provisions made to ensure that ammonia’s hazards are effectively managed well within acceptable risk thresholds.
The construction of EXMAR’s first 46,000 m3, ammonia-powered midsized gas carrier vessel began in December last year, with the four ordered vessels on track for delivery in 2026, powered by dual-fuel WinGD engines.
A new round of Norwegian government funding has awarded a total of $68 million to a series of ammonia-fueled vessel projects, including a replacement freighter to service a key cargo and postal route to Svalbard, platform supply vessels, and the bunkering/distribution vessel MS Green Ammonia.
WinGD has received orders for its 52-bore X-DF-A ammonia-fuelled engines for seven LPG/ammonia dual-fuel carriers. Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd has ordered 24 modern vessels from Chinese shipyards, among them 12 ammonia-ready newbuilds.