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.
Alma Clean Power is in the process of testing a modular, 100 kW, direct ammonia-to-electricity solid oxide fuel cell that will be able to be stacked to create larger power systems for maritime applications.
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.
An NYK-led consortium has been granted engine room safety accreditation by ClassNK for its ammonia-fueled, medium gas carrier design. The vessel is due to hit the water in 2026. Starting later this decade, NYK has also committed to transport renewable ammonia from Sembcorp’s under-development production project in India to Kyushu, Japan.
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.