NYK pioneers truck-to-ship fuel ammonia bunkering

At the Sea Japan 2024 event, NYK announced its plans to supply fuel ammonia at the end of May to an upcoming NYK-owned ammonia-fueled tugboat (“A-tug”) slated for completion in June.

This milestone was celebrated during a ceremony held on 10 April at the booth of the “GI Foundation for the Development of Ships with Domestic Ammonia-Fueled Engines,” with attendees including Yuichiro Kato, head of the Low Carbon Fuel Value Chain Division at JERA, Hiroshi Adachi, executive officer and general manager of the Basic Chemicals Business Unit at Resonac Corporation, Takeshi Kato, president and representative director of Shin-Nihon Kaiyosha and Osamu Shimada, executive officer at Tokyo Power Technology.

In December of last year, JERA, Resonac, and NYK entered into a collaborative agreement to study the supply of fuel ammonia to ships. Since then, they have been diligently working together to establish safe operational protocols, develop systems for transporting and receiving ammonia in port areas, and advocate for regulatory frameworks governing its supply.

With their efforts culminating in the establishment of a safe and reliable method for supplying fuel ammonia to ships, NYK has decided to commence fuel supply operations from an ammonia lorry (tank truck) at the end of May to the soon-to-be-completed A-Tug at the port of Yokohama. If successful, this endeavour will mark the world’s first instance of replenishing fuel ammonia to a ship using the truck-to-ship method.

Simultaneously, a fuel-supply agreement was announced on the same day for the regular provision of fuel ammonia following the completion of the A-tug. This agreement, between Shin Nippon Kaiyosha, an NYK Group company operating the A-tug, and JERA, a leading marine fuel ammonia supplier, represents a significant stride towards the widespread adoption of fuel ammonia within the marine transport sector.

According to a statement, the NYK Group will continue to develop business activities that consider the global environment through the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its oceangoing shipping business and contribute to strengthening the international competitiveness of the Japan Maritime Cluster in the global shipping industry’s efforts toward decarbonization.