Study finds ‘low or mitigable’ risks for testing ammonia bunkering in Singapore

SINGAPORE could be a step closer to starting pilot studies on the feasibility of ammonia as a green marine fuel, with a study finding the risks of assessing the highly toxic fuel to be “low or mitigable”.

The nine-month-long study commissioned by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD), an entity formed with S$120 million of funding by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), considered the risk of running the pilots in Singapore’s port waters and two sites on Jurong Island. Because ammonia as marine fuel is a highly nascent technology and Singapore is a major global bunkering hub, test-bedding is essential to the global adoption of ammonia.

The risks are not expected to exceed individual risk thresholds set by the Ministry of Manpower’s Major Hazards Department, according to the report, which was launched at Singapore Maritime Week – an annual industry gathering – on Thursday (Apr 27).