A SUCCESSFUL trial of ammonia transfer between two vessels is helping to realise the Pilbara’s potential as a low-greenhouse gas (GHG) emission ammonia bunkering hub.
An announcement by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation said the successful transfers demonstrate the operational viability of future ammonia bunkering in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The pilot also marks a step towards operationalising a low-GHG emission shipping route for the international iron ore trade, which is projected to require 1 to 1.5 million tonnes of ammonia by 2035, according to a joint 2023 study undertaken by Pilbara Ports, Yara Clean Ammonia and Lloyd’s Register.
A tripartite collaboration between the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD), Pilbara Ports and YCA was formed to realise Pilbara’s potential as a low-greenhouse gas emission ammonia bunkering hub.
The region had already been identified by a Global Maritime Forum study as a viable location for ammonia bunkering.
Construction to enable renewable ammonia production by 2025 has begun at Yara Pilbara’s facility.
The GCMD announcement said that in the absence of ammonia bunkering vessels and ammonia-fuelled ships at this stage, ship-to-ship transfers at anchorage offer the closest proxy to bunkering operations when it replicates the essential steps involved.
“With this objective in mind, the trial began with a transfer at the Port of Dampier as a proxy to breakbulk, leveraging the port’s experience with ammonia export,” the report said. “The second transfer demonstrated the potential of bunkering operations, extendable also to other ports nearby, where such future operations for bulk carriers are expected to take place.
To mimic future ammonia bunkering scenarios, the Pilbara trials deployed a handysize and a midsize gas carrier with capacities that are similar to that expected of ammonia bunker vessels.
