Japanese trio to build an ammonia dual-fuel bulk carrier

NYK Bulk & Project Carriers (NBP), Oshima Shipbuilding (OSHIMA) and Sumitomo Corporation (SUMITOMO) have agreed to study, design and build an ammonia dual-fuel Handymax bulk carrier.

PHOTO: Getty Images

The Handymax vessel’s dual-fuel engine will be able to use ammonia as fuel in addition to conventional marine fuel. It will be first in a fleet of 10-15 vessels “dedicated to the transport of copper products that NBP would operate from Chile to the Far East.”

A Handymax bulk carrier is a type of cargo ship that is primarily used for transporting bulk commodities.

The companies claim that the new vessel will be able to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to zero.

NBP and Chilean state-owned mining company Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (CODELCO) want the vessel to “be developed and built by OSHIMA, which is willing to study this project together” with the other two companies, NBP says.

The agreement comes a year after NBP, a subsidiary of Japanese shipping company NYK Line, signed a deal with CODELCO to jointly study the decarbonised transportation of copper products.

Ammonia gaining prominence

Ammonia’s appeal as a potential bunker fuel has been growing and it has made headlines this week.

Among noteworthy ammonia-related developments, the Silk Alliance - a regional green corridor cluster in Asia founded by Lloyd's Register - set a 2027 deadline for deploying low-carbon ammonia-powered pilot vessels, and 2030 as a target year for ammonia for bunkering in Singapore.

German energy infrastructure investment firm DAI Infrastruktur and energy tech firm Siemens Energy unveiled plans to build a green ammonia plant in Egypt’s East Port Said. Green ammonia produced from the plant will be offered as bunker fuel to ammonia-fuelled ships passing through the Suez Canal.

By Tuhin Roy

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