Maritime organisations partner to develop guidelines for ammonia fuel

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) and the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF) will work together for the next two years to develop guidelines on the use of ammonia as a marine fuel.

Ammonia, a natural gas, is mostly used as a chemical feedstock. However, it is being developed as a low-emissions alternative to existing marine fuel. It is also shipped as a liquified gas.

On Thursday (Sep 7), both organisations inked a two-year Coalition Partnership agreement at Gastech 2023, an industry event held at the Singapore Expo.

Professor Lynn Loo, chief executive of GCMD, said: “While ammonia vessels are not expected to be on water till 2026, we will need to ready the ecosystem for ammonia bunkering in the meantime by getting guidelines in place if bunkering of vessels is to happen then.”

In April, GCMD and its appointed consultant, DNV Maritime Advisory, completed a nine-month ammonia bunkering safety study with support from Surbana Jurong and the Singapore Maritime Academy at Singapore Polytechnic.

The two organisations said that the study, which included input from various industry partners and regulatory agencies, “deepened collective knowledge for future safe ammonia bunkering, ahead of ammonia bunker tankers and ammonia-propelled vessels becoming available”.

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Findings from the study can support SGMF and its stakeholders to develop guidelines as the maritime industry moves towards using ammonia as a low-carbon fuel, they said.

“Learnings from GCMD’s upcoming ship-to-ship ammonia transfer pilots in port waters can also help enhance ammonia-bunkering safety guidelines,” they added.

Located in Singapore, GCMD is a non-profit organisation supporting the decarbonisation of the maritime industry.

SGMF is a non-governmental organisation headquartered in the UK which advocates for the safe and sustainable use of low-flashpoint fuels.

Its guidelines on liquified natural gas (LNG) bunkering are widely referred to by industry players such as ports and users of LNG as a marine fuel. These guidelines address specific requirements for its use and also provides a framework of competence for users to safely handle LNG.