The world’s first ship-to-ship ammonia transfer at anchorage: “A major milestone to decarbonize shipping fuel”
16 September 2024 - 11:57PM
UK Regulatory
The world’s first ship-to-ship ammonia transfer at anchorage: “A
major milestone to decarbonize shipping fuel”
The world’s first ship-to-ship transfer of ammonia using
vessels at anchorage in a working port environment has been
completed. The transfer is a significant step towards realizing
ammonia as a shipping fuel and enable bunkering worldwide. Yara
contributed with their experience and knowledge on safe handling of
ammonia, nominated an ammonia vessel from their Time Charter fleet,
and the ammonia used in the transfers.
“This demonstrates that ammonia transfer can be done with the
highest safety standards and efficiency in a working port
environment. The transfer is a major milestone to decarbonize
shipping using low-emission ammonia as fuel,” says Murali
Srinivasan, SVP Commercial Yara Clean Ammonia.
The operation is a result of the collaborative relationship
between Yara Clean Ammonia, Pilbara Ports Authority and the Global
Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD). It was conducted in
Port Dampier in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, as part of the
work to enhance the Pilbara’s potential as a bunkering hub to fuel
ships with low-emission ammonia. Low-emission ammonia is produced
with renewable energy and electrolysis of water or with carbon
capture and storage. Ammonia does not emit CO2 when burned.
The Pilbara Ports Authority and Yara Clean Ammonia have been
working together for more than two years investigating the
potential demand for ammonia as a fuel, required bunker
infrastructure, safety guidelines and the required regulatory
framework. To develop the transfer, this partnership was expanded
with GCMD, who successfully attracted additional partners to help
ensure a safe and efficient execution of the transfer operation.
Port Dampier has ongoing experience with ammonia cargoes with Yara
Pilbara’s nearby operations shipping an incident free 11.8 million
tonnes to date.
The two ship-to-ship transfers were undertaken between the Green
Pioneer, 35,000 cubic metres (cbm) ammonia carrier (owner MOL), and
the Navigator Global, a 22,500 cbm ammonia carrier (owner Navigator
Gas). The trial involved a dual transfer of 4,000 cbm
(approximately 2,715 tonnes) of ammonia, first from the Green
Pioneer to the Navigator Global, and then back to the Green
Pioneer.
Murali Srinivasan, SVP Commercial Yara Clean Ammonia said
collaboration on safety is innate to our thinking and we are very
proud to be part of this tripartite project and active
collaboration and contributions to the positive outcome of the
trials.
"International shipping accounts for 3% of the global
GHG-emissions and we see clean ammonia as the low to zero-emission
fuel to decarbonize the shipping industry and meet the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) targets. For more than a
century we have been producing and shipping ammonia with the
highest safety standards and efficient ammonia operations. The
successful ship-to-ship transfer of ammonia was a critical learning
step in enabling ammonia bunkering operations in a port environment
as global shipping moves to effective use of ammonia as a fuel,”
says Mr. Srinivasan.
“We thank all partners that were involved and highly appreciate
the leadership of GCMD in bringing frontrunners together as well as
the Pilbara Port Authority for their facilitation and guidance. Of
course, additional thanks are due specifically to the team of YCA
and the Yara Pilbara plant involved in this significant step
towards ammonia bunkering," says Murali Srinivasan.
Yara Pilbara’s Chief Operations Officer Laurent Trost said the
successful trials were extremely encouraging as the Pilbara
operations moves forward with key decarbonization measures.
“We currently have the Project Yuri renewable hydrogen
demonstration plant under construction on our existing lease which
will begin injecting green molecules into our ammonia production
process next year, and we are also investigating carbon capture and
storage which would swiftly and significantly cut carbon output
from our operations,” Mr. Trost says.
“These measures, along with government planning for enablement
of green electricity transmission, would allow us to develop low
carbon ammonia products in the Pilbara for application in the
shipping industry and other clean fuels, as well as the building
block for decarbonized ammonium nitrate and fertiliser products,”
Mr Laurent Trost says.
**Additional media materials including an extended media
release on the trial and images are available through the following
link
https://www.gcformd.org/successful-ship-to-ship-ammonia-transfers-pave-the-way-for-ammonia-bunkering-in-the-pilbara-region/
About Yara Clean Ammonia
Yara grows knowledge to responsibly feed the world and protect
the planet. Yara Clean Ammonia is uniquely positioned to enable the
hydrogen economy in a market expected to grow substantially over
the next decades. We aim at significantly strengthening our leading
global position as the world’s largest ammonia distributor,
unlocking the green and blue value chains, and driving the
development of clean ammonia globally.
Building on Yara’s leading experience within global ammonia
production, logistics and trade, Yara Clean Ammonia works towards
capturing growth opportunities in low-emission fuel for shipping,
power generation, low-carbon food production and ammonia for
industrial applications.
Yara Clean Ammonia operates the largest global ammonia network with
15 ships and has, through Yara, access to 18 ammonia terminals and
multiple ammonia production and consumption sites across the world.
Revenues and EBITDA for the FY 2023 were USD 1.9 billion and USD
101 million respectively. Yara Clean Ammonia is headquartered in
Oslo, Norway www.yaracleanammonia.com
About Yara Pilbara
In the Pilbara, Yara has created a world class downstream
processing precinct. The Yara Pilbara Fertilisers plant is a
world-scale facility and the ammonia it produces is exported to
global markets mainly for use in fertilisers. The Yara Pilbara
Nitrates technical ammonium nitrate plant is a joint venture with
Orica which converts ammonia into a material crucial for unlocking
the wealth of Western Australia’s mining industry. The company has
220 residential Karratha-based employees.
Yara Clean Ammonia Contact
Hilde Steinfeld
+47 99 35 30 30
hilde.steinfeld@yara.com
Yara Pilbara Media Contact
Casey Cahill
0413 992 195
casey@counselcomms.com.au
- Navigator Global and the Green Pioneer
- The Green Pioneer and the Navigator Global with tugboats
- Representatives of the tripartite
Yara International ASA (TG:IU2)
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