NYK said it had concluded a contract with Keihin Dock, an NYK Group company, to modify a tugboat to ammonia-fuel specifications.
The tug Sakigake will be converted to operate on ammonia fuel by a target completion year of 2024.
The vessel currentlyruns on LNG and is operated in Tokyo Bay by NYK Group company Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha Corporation.
This initiative is part of the development of vessels equipped with a domestically produced ammonia-fuelled engine.
NYK said since carbon dioxide is not emitted when ammonia is combusted, ammonia is viewed to have promise as a next-generation fuel that could mitigate shipping’s impact on global warming.
In addition, it is said that zero emissions can be realised throughout the fuel life cycle by using carbon dioxide-free hydrogen as a raw material for ammonia production.
According to NYK, by using ammonia as a fuel for ships, it will be possible to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions during voyages.
In the development process, there were various design challenges in using ammonia as fuel, but the two companies overcame these challenges without changing the size of the conventional tugboat and received approval in principle from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) in July 2022.
NYK will begin modification in fiscal 2023 with the aim of realising demonstration operations in the port of Yokohama in 2024.
