The ammonia ascent

There are currently three ammonia-capable vessels in operation, with another 37 on order for delivery through 2029. The majority of these orders (19) are gas tankers, followed by bulk carriers (12) and crude oil tankers (2).

The bulk carrier orders appear to reflect early support from cargo owners with emissions-intensive supply chains, like the Australian mining industry, where companies like BHP and Fortescue plan to use ammonia-capable vessels to decarbonise iron ore shipments.

BHP will charter two ammonia-capable vessels from COSCO Shipping Bulk to operate on its trade routes between Western Australia and Northeast Asia.

Fortescue will charter a 210,000-dwt ammonia-capable vessel from CMB.Tech. The vessel will be delivered by 2026 and deployed on a Pilbara-China route.

Global container shipping firms like Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk have also shown interest in adding ammonia to their longer-term fuel strategies, but have not yet placed orders for ammonia-capable vessels.

The vessel pipeline is supported by progress in engine technology.

Swiss engine maker Winterthur Gas & Diesel (WinGD) has installed its ammonia dual-fuel engine on one of Exmar's LPG/ammonia carriers. It has successfully tested the engine with 5% pilot fuel, and has 30 confirmed orders for these engines to be installed on bulk carriers, container ships and gas carriers.

New production projects are also starting to materialise. Envision Energy has commissioned a green ammonia plant in Chifeng, China, with a production capacity of 320,000 mt/year. Exports are expected to start this year, with a portion allocated for bunkering. The company plans to scale output to 1.5 million mt/year by 2028.

Lloyd’s Register has partnered with German infrastructure developer DAI Infrastruktur to support a green ammonia production and bunkering facility at East Port Said in Egypt. Production at this plant is expected to begin by 2029, with a capacity of up to 2 million mt/year.

Bunkering and onshore infrastructure is progressing in parallel.

Japan’s Itochu has ordered a 5,000-cbm ammonia bunkering vessel through its subsidiary, Clean Ammonia Bunkering Shipping. The vessel is set for delivery by 2027 and will be used to pilot ship-to-ship ammonia bunkering operations in Singapore that year.

Norwegian firm Færder Tankers has had an ammonia dual-fuel bunker vessel design approved by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).

Japanese engineering firm IHI Corporation and Dutch storage operator Royal Vopak have formed a joint venture to develop an ammonia terminal in Japan. They will develop safe ammonia storage and handling at domestic ports.

From charter deals and engine trials to bunkering vessels and large-scale terminals, the building blocks are coming together. But as promising as these developments appear, ammonia’s wider global uptake will hinge on strict safety guidelines, clear regulatory pathways, operational certainty and viable fuel economics. So while progress is tentatively tangible, ammonia still has a long way to go before it becomes a mainstay.

In other news this week

UK-based Nuclear Energy Maritime Organization (NEMO) has been granted official non-government consultative status at the IMO. This status will allow NEMO to contribute technical insights and policy recommendations on nuclear technology adoption in the maritime sector.

UK-based carbon capture company Seabound has installed its onboard carbon capture (OCCS) technology on a 5,700 gross tonne (GT) cement carrier called UBC Cork. The vessel owned by Hartmann. Seabound’s containerised OCCS technology uses a calcium looping process to capture up to 95% of CO2 and 98% of sulphur emissions from the ship’s exhaust. 

Chinese utility company Shanghai Electric has started biomethanol production at its Taonan facility in Jilin province. The plant currently produces 50,000 mt/year of biomethanol. It is expected to reach full capacity of 250,000 mt/year by 2027.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) aims to issue methanol bunkering licenses by the fourth quarter of this year. These licenses will be valid for five years, from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2030.

By Konica Bhatt

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