World-first ship-to-ship ammonia bunkering completed

In what is being described as a world-first ship-to-ship transfer of its type, the Sheng Yongle has delivered 1,000 tonnes of green ammonia to the ammonia-powered bulk carrier Mineral Europa.

The transfer of the ammonia to the Mineral Europa, which was designed by Sweden’s FKAB Marine Design, took place in Zhoushan, China. It is said that operation underlines the technical readiness of commercial ship-to-ship delivery that will help to close an infrastructure gap in the switch away from fossil fuel.

Mineral Europa (right) receives ammonia fuel from bunkering vessel (Photo FKAB/CGTN)

The fuel is expected to play a key role in shipping, particularly on deep-sea routes which cannot benefit from electrification. When produced using renewable energy, ammonia delivers no fuel-related CO2 emissions.

A spokesperson from FKAB told Power Progress that the ammonia fuel was transferred in liquid form at five bar pressure and -48C via a flexible hose connection. Reliquification plants onboard the vessel ensured the ammonia remained in its original state before being bunkered.

Mineral Europa, which is owned by Belgium’s CMB-Tech, is equipped with a dual-fuel engine supplied by WinGD which requires small amounts of diesel as a pilot fuel to burn the ammonia.

FKAB developed the original L21 vessel as a semi-refrigerated and semi-pressurised liquified gas carrier. The company developed the plans to convert the ship to an ammonia bunker carrier.

The conversion included modifications to the bunkering system, development of operating procedures, risk assessments and the establishment of safety and emergency-response arrangements.

Particular attention was given to ammonia toxicity, material compatibility, low-temperature operation, leak detection and risk control during bunkering.