A study into the potential for ammonia bunkering in Singapore has recruited two major heavyweights: shipping giant Mitsui OSK Lines and French oil major Total.
The project, which was initially launched in June 2020 by Japanese trading house Itochu and terminal operator Vopak, has also brought Singapore LNG player Pavilion Energy on board.
Itochu said the three new partners will be able to contribute their individual expertise to the study including their experience of LNG bunkering in the city state.
Tokyo-listed MOL said it will promote the development of a floating storage unit or ammonia bunkering vessel as well as all the necessary safety guidelines.
Total will take responsibility for promoting the development of ammonia supply chain and bunkering infrastructure.
Pavilion Energy will also take part in the development of the supply chain leveraging its expertise in the operation of LNG as a bunker fuel in Singapore.
Vopak, which has expertise in handling ammonia at its Banyan Terminal in Singapore, is responsible for the development of an independent, onshore facility for the storage and handling of ammonia with loading and unloading facilities.
Fuel supply chain
Itochu, which will project manage the study, will be responsible for establishing partnerships elsewhere in the world to further develop facilities for the supply of ammonia as a bunker fuel.
Itochu is also working on a project in Japan to develop ammonia bunkering infrastructure in partnership with several other domestic companies.
It plans to supply ammonia and develop bunkering sites in Japan with fuel-trading subsidiary Itochu Enex, Ube Industries, and Uyeno Transtech.
In March, shipyard group Keppel Corp and Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk also announced plans for a feasibility study into the practicalities of using ammonia as a bunker fuel in Singapore.
They teamed up with Fleet Management, Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, Sumitomo Corp and Yara International in the study.
US classification society American Bureau of Shipping collaborated with Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in January this year to explore ammonia's for bunkering potential.
Singapore is fast becoming a hotbed for alternative-fuel research and the general decarbonisation of the shipping industry.
During the recent Singapore Maritime Week, the island nation launched a SGD 120m ($90m) maritime decarbonisation fund with the backing of some of the largest local shipowners and charterers.
Eastern Pacific Shipping, BW Group, BHP, Ocean Network Express, Sembcorp Marine and DNV each agreed to contribute SGD 10m to the fund, with Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority chipping in a matching SGD 60m.
