Japanese shipping company NYK, in collaboration with ammonia trader Trammo, has completed its first ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of liquefied ammonia.
Courtesy of NYK
The operation was conducted on September 2 off the coast of Ceuta, Spain.
It involved the STS transfer of 23,000 tons of ammonia from Berlian Ekuator, an ammonia carrier owned by NYK and time-chartered by Mitsui & Co., to Trammo-operated Eco Enchanted.
Following STS transfers of crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), this marked NYKโs first operation involving liquefied ammonia.
Ammonia is expected to be used in various applications, including marine fuel. With demand projected to increase, the STS method, which is not constrained by port size or onshore equipment, is attracting attention as a flexible supply method compared to conventional land-based cargo handling methods, NYK explained.
The shipping company said it will build on the insights and experience gained from this transfer to further advance next-generation fuels and strengthen safe maritime transportation systems, contributing to the broader goal of achieving a decarbonized society.
In 2024, NYK and its partners completed the conversion of the tugboat Sakigake from LNG- to an ammonia-fueled vessel, making it โthe worldโs firstโ commercial-use ammonia-fueled vessel.
During its three-month demonstration voyage, the tugboat achieved a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of approximately 95%.
The Japanese shipping major, in collaboration with LMG Marin and other consortium partners, is also a developer of a โpioneeringโ ammonia-fueled ammonia bunkering vessel design approved by classification society ClassNK.
๐๐๐ค๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐จ๐ซ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐!
๐๐จ๐ข๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ซ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ!