K Line and compatriot shipbuilder Shin Kurushima Dockyard have secured approval in principle for an ammonia-fueled car carrier design.
The Japanese shipowner said ammonia is attracting attention as a "next-generation" marine fuel as it does not emit C02 during combustion.
In the joint study, K Line, Shin Kurushima Dock and Japanese classification society ClassNK said they formulated a potential risk assessment and safety measures for using ammonia as a fuel.
“Based on the safety evaluation of ammonia fuel, Shin Kurushima Dockyard and K Line worked on the development of a ship that can both reduce environmental impact and meet actual operational requirements,” K Line said.
K Line controls a fleet of 80 car carriers and has a single 7,000-ceu unit on order for delivery in 2023, according to its most recent quarterly results.
Shin Kurushima Dockyard is no stranger to innovation in the car carrier space having delivered Japan’s first 7,000-ceu car carrier that uses LNG as its main fuel in late 2020.
Some 30 ammonia-ready ships of all vessel types are on order and a large number of ammonia-fuelled designs have received class approval, according to Clarksons.
In early October, Hoegh Autoliners signed a letter of intent with China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Co to build a series of multi-fuel and ammonia ready class car carriers.
The Norwegian shipowner said the ships, which will be delivered in the second half of 2024, would be "the first of their kind" to be ready for operation on carbon neutral ammonia.
China Merchant Industry has been expanding its shipbuilding business over the past two years and it is now the largest PCTC builder and the fourth largest shipbuilding group in China.
Some 37 car carriers of 260,000 ceu have been reported ordered in 2021 unto the end of October 2021, according to Clarksons.
This represents a substantial increase year on year, and the highest level of ordering since 2015. All of the car carriers reported ordered in 2021 so far are set to be LNG dual fuel capable.
