Maritime & Port Authority Singapore announced that it will finalise ammonia bunkering standards for the island nation by next year.
The American Bureau of Shipping has granted AiP for two new autonomous technology packages developed by Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries: an unmanned ammonia engine room, plus an AI safety package with rapid-response capabilities.
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.
Hanwha Power Systems and GasLog will develop a comprehensive demonstration plan for the retrofit of existing large LNG carriers to be powered by ammonia gas turbines.
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.
After a multi-year development process, Amogy has sailed its retrofitted tugboat for the first time on the Hudson River, north of New York City, fueled by renewable ammonia.
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.
Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply the total technology package for the conversion of the Viking Energy to run on ammonia fuel. The original plan to retrofit the vessel with a 2 MW solid oxide fuel cell system was delayed by supply chain and development challenges, but SOFC developer Alma Clean Power will continue to test and scale its direct ammonia-fed technology for maritime applications.