MOL, Sembcorp Marine get ammonia bunkering vessel design approved
The American Bureau of Shipping has granted an approval in-principle (AIP) for the design of an ammonia bunkering vessel being developed by Singapore-based shipbuilder Sembcorp Marine and Japanese shipping companies Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Itochu Corporation.
PHOTO: Model of the ammonia bunkering vessel designed by Sembcorp Marine’s wholly-owned subsidiaries, Sembcorp Marine Integrated Yard and LMG Marin. Sembcorp Marine
The companies got the design approved after they conducted a study to identify potential hazards with handling ammonia. The vessel has been designed keeping ammonia toxicity in mind, says the shipmaker.
The design also incorporates inputs on cargo containment and bunkering systems from marine technology companies Wartsila Gas Solutions and KLAW LNG.
“This collaboration clearly underpins the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation’s (GCMD) ongoing pursuit to define the safety and operation envelopes to enable ammonia pilot demonstrations in Singapore,” says Sembcorp Marine president and chief executive Wong Weng Sun.
In December, Lynn Loo, chief executive officer at the Singapore-based GCMD, wrote on LinkedIn that green ammonia will be part of a “heterogeneous portfolio of fuels” that will make the future of bunkering.
The centre plans to commission a study to define the framework for safety and operations to pilot and demonstrate ammonia bunkering. Companies taking part in the study include shipowners MOL and NYK Line, engineering and infrastructure firms Keppel and Sembcorp Marine, and ammonia producer Yara.
Sembcorp says it is also developing a 12,000 cbm LNG bunkering vessel with MOL, which would be the largest such vessel in Singapore when it is built.
