The first launch of a new ship powered by ammonia fuel

Weather of Arabia - A South Korean company began producing the first medium-sized ship based on ammonia fuel. This transformation would reduce emissions by nearly half in the first phase, then by 100% by the middle of the century, with the aim of complying with International Maritime Organization standards.

HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KSOE) , a subsidiary of the Hyundai Group, announced the start of production of the first medium-sized ship powered by ammonia fuel . This ship has a capacity of 45 thousand cubic meters of liquefied petroleum gas, and was manufactured for the Belgian shipping company Exmar, which The deal was concluded last March, according to a report published by the relevant energy platform.

Ammonia fueled ship

The ammonia-fueled ship is approximately 190 meters long, 30.4 meters wide , and has a height of 18.8 meters . The production process is scheduled to end and the two ships will be delivered to the contracting Belgian company in May 2026 .

Both ships can meet the standards of the United Nations International Maritime Organization on reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the shipping sector by 40% in 2030 , compared to 2008 levels, and 100% by 2050.

The shipping sector is the source of about 10% of global carbon emissions, according to data from the International Maritime Organization, and 90% of freight transport is ocean freight.

In an article published last July, the head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak , who also serves as the UN climate lead for the COP28 climate summit, stressed the need to reduce shipping emissions and indicated that those emissions are expected to rise by up to 250 %. % by 2050 and the importance of the international organization’s role in achieving a reduction in emissions from the maritime shipping sector.

Design of ammonia fueled ship

The Korean company designed the new ship to be able to transport ammonia in addition to liquefied petroleum gas . What makes it possible to use this ammonia as fuel for ships, as ammonia has attracted global attention as a fuel free of carbon dioxide emissions.

The reasons that helped to adopt it as an alternative fuel are:

• Low cost
• In addition to the stability of its supply chains
• And the ability to transport and store

HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering obtained approval from the International Marine Classification Authority for its dual ammonia fuel engine in 2020, which allows its ships to use green fuel on a commercial level, starting in 2025. The company also developed the first ammonia fuel system in the industry. Shipbuilding in 2021, as this leading company in the field of environmentally friendly shipbuilding received the first contract to produce a ship powered by methanol fuel in August.

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Sources:

hellenicshippingnews