Naftomar orders the four biggest ever ammonia carriers

Greek shipowner Naftomar has put in an order with South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean for four ammonia-ready very large ammonia carriers (VLACs).

PHOTO: Hanwha Ocean to deliver four VLACs to Naftomar. Hanwha Ocean

They are the biggest ammonia carriers ever ordered with 93,000 cbm carrying capacity. Hanwha Ocean has signed a deal to construct the vessels worth KRW 656.2 billion ($496 million).

Ammonia-ready means that the vessels will not be capable of running on ammonia upon delivery, but that they will have space allocated onboard to install ammonia fuel tanks and engines in the future.

Hamwha Ocean and Naftomar have not disclosed how extensive these retrofit operations would be if Naftomar opts for them, or given a timeline on when it could be attractive to retrofit the vessels.

The companies have not said anything about what kind of ammonia the vessels could run on either. Different methods for producing ammonia have been assigned colours such as green (renewable), grey (fossil) and blue (fossil with carbon capture).

The vessels are scheduled to be built at Hanwha Ocean's Geoje shipyard and delivered to Naftomar in the first half of 2027.

Hanwha Ocean also received approval for an 86,000-cbm ammonia carrier from Bureau Veritas (BV) and from Lloyd's Register last year.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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