World’s first ammonia fuel-ready vessel being built in China

The ABS-class suezmax tanker is being built at New Times Shipyard and complies with ABS Ammonia Ready Level 1 requirements indicating it is designed to be converted to run on ammonia.

It is one of a potential order for three tankers, and all three vessels, if built, was also meet ABS LNG ready requirements.

Patrick Ryan, ABS senior vice president, global engineering and technology, said: “Ammonia is a promising zero-carbon fuel that can help meet the IMO’s GHG reduction target for 2050. It offers shipowners and operators a zero-carbon tank-to-wake emissions profile but is not without challenges, not the least of which is the greater prescriptive requirements for containment and equipment than most of the other alternative fuels under consideration.”

Michael Androulakakis, technical manager of Avin International, said, ““The shipowners, seeking early decarbonisation of their fleet, which LNG fuel operations alone are not enough to fully achieve, have additionally invested in making the vessels ready for ammonia fuel. This currently appears to be one of the most widely available and most promising carbon neutral fuels for the future.”