Ammonia-powered tugboat bunkered for the first time in Japan
Japan-based JERA supplied an undisclosed amount of ammonia to an ammonia-powered tugboat owned by NYK Line at Yokohama Port’s Honmoku Pier, marking the first truck-to-ship bunkering of ammonia.
PHOTO: Ammonia-powered tugboat "A-Tug". NYK Line
The ammonia used for bunkering was produced at Resonac Corporation's Kawasaki Plant. JERA has not specified whether the ammonia supplied was green or grey ammonia, but said it was partially derived from plastic waste.
The NYK tugboat, A-Tug, originally powered by LNG, underwent conversion to run on ammonia in October last year. The retrofitted tugboat is set to begin commercial operations next month.
The tugboat conversion involved replacing the entire LNG propulsion system, including the main engine and fuel tank, with new ammonia-fuelled machinery. This required significant modifications, including cutting the engine room to remove the existing equipment and install new systems to support ammonia propulsion.
The ammonia-powered marine engine was developed in collaboration with IHI Power Systems and ClassNK as part of the Green Innovation Fund Project under Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The engine was delivered to NYK in February.
Once the A-Tug begins operations in August, JERA will continue to supply ammonia to its operator, Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha Corporation.
By Debarati Bhattacharjee
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