What could be the world’s first ammonia-fuelled tanker is set to enter service in 2025.
The vessel will be designed and built by the Castor Initiative, a coalition of high-profile shipping industry players who said that the addition two new members has created the complete ecosystem to bring the project to fruition.
The coalition made the announcement during a webinar on ammonia as marine fuel organised by the Getting to Zero Coalition’s Fuels & Technologies workstream on Tuesday.
The Castor Initiative was launched in January 2020 as the "Ammonia-fuelled tanker Joint Development Project."
MISC Berhad, Lloyd’s Register, Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and MAN Energy Solutions (MAN) teamed up to work collaboratively on an ammonia-fuelled tanker to support shipping’s drive towards a decarbonised future.
The coalition has now been joined by Norwegian fertiliser giant Yara International and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
MISC president and group chief executive Yee Yang Chien said that with Yara and the MPA onboard, the project has a complete representation from all areas of the maritime ecosystem.
“This joint development project has come a long way since our inception in January 2020 and it now stands complete as [the] Castor Initiative, with absolute collaboration and commitment from principal key stakeholders in the shipping industry,” he said.
Collaborative effort
The Castor Initiative will work together to put an ammonia-fuelled tanker into service in 2025.
MAN will design the engine, which Brian Ostergaard Sorensen — the company's vice president and head of research and development for its two-stroke business, said should be ready by 2024.
“We are on track to deliver that," he said. "We have done the materials screening and determined that we do not need new coatings, but we do need new types of packing materials. We are now looking at pilot fuel consumption and timings."
SHI will design and build the vessel while Lloyd’s Register will provide guidance on the design of its fuel systems and conduct risk assessments.
MISC, as the owner and operator of the prototype vessel, will bear much of the project’s financial risk. While Yee acknowledged this, he said it was necessary to “at least try move the curve forward”.
Yara, the world’s largest ammonia producer, will contribute its expertise in the handling of ammonia and knowledge of its characteristics.
The MPA will help write the regulations for the use of ammonia as a marine fuel and provide regulatory authority over aspects such as safe operating procedures and standards for bunkering.
Global priority
MPA chief executive Quah Ley Hoon said in a statement that decarbonisation remains a key priority for the maritime sector, not just in Singapore but globally.
“As a transshipment and bunkering hub, we are committed to meet [the] IMO2030/2050 decarbonisation goals. We are also looking forward to collaborating with like-minded industry partners to support the development and trials of alternative future marine fuels such as ammonia.”
Sorensen said the MPA’s coming on board to provide regulatory authority was a step in the right direction but what is needed is a global set of rules and standards that can be applied to vessel and engine designs so that there is clarity for designers and manufacturers.
Building confidence and scalability
The hope is that the first vessel will serve a demonstration to the shipping industry that an ammonia-fuelled ship is technologically possible, economically feasible, and can be safely operated.
“The next step is to get financiers, banks and customers to join hands with us,” said Yee.
Once the ship is in service, focus will shift to scaling up ammonia fuelling.
“We need to make it scalable for shipowners,” said Yee.
“We will look at retrofitting existing ships, which will give hope to a lot of older ships that run on conventional fuels and reduce the risk of strata tier assets.”
Castor Initiative members all stressed that making deep-sea zero-carbon vessels a reality within this decade calls for leadership commitment and collaborative action.
They said solutions to concerns that have been raised about the potential safety problems and environmental impact of ammonia could easily be found through stakeholder collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Rob Stevens, Yara’s vice-president of ammonia energy and shipping fuel, said his company had already addressed emissions at its ammonia plants and could contribute this knowledge development to shipping.
“We believe that ammonia can play a large part in zero emissions shipping,” Stevens said.
“But only collaboration can bring it forward.”