DNV-led consortium to conduct ammonia bunkering study

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) said on Wednesday it has awarded its ammonia bunkering safety study in Singapore to a DNV-led consortium.

The study, which will begin next and is expected to take 12 months to complete, is said to build on guidelines that have been developed for safe handling of ammonia as a bunker fuel.

The company said that although the study is being conducted in Singapore, it can be calibrated to “site-specific operational conditions to help advance the deployment of green ammonia as a bunker fuel elsewhere”.

“A precursor to the demonstration of ammonia bunkering in Singapore, the intent of this study is to define a robust set of safety guidelines and operational envelopes that will establish the basis of a regulatory sandbox for trials at two local bunkering sites,” said GCMD in a statement.

GCMD also said that handling ammonia as a bunker fuel will require “more stringent safety and operational guidelines compared to transporting ammonia as a commodity”.

“Our research shows that a number of safety gaps hold the potential to disrupt the speed and success of shipping’s energy transition. The safe handling of ammonia – among the most promising future fuels – is one such gap which urgently needs to be closed, given the threat it poses to seafarers and ships unless properly managed,” said Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO of DNV Maritime, in a statement.

GCMD has already signed letters of collaboration with 21 industry partners, who have agreed to share confidential technical information with the consortium.

The DNV consortium includes Singapore's Surbana Jurong and the Singapore Maritime Academy (SMA).