Successful ship-to-ship ammonia transfers pave the way for ammonia bunkering in the Pilbara region

Two transfers took place between the Green Pioneer (owner MOL), a 35,000 cubic metres (cbm) ammonia carrier, and the Navigator Global (owner Navigator Gas), a 22,500 cbm ammonia carrier. Yara Clean Ammonia (YCA) provided the ammonia used in the transfers.

The first transfer involved 4,000 cbm (approximately 2,700 tonnes) of ammonia from the Green Pioneer to the Navigator Global at the Port of Dampier. The same ammonia cargo was then transferred back from the Navigator Global to the Green Pioneer. Each transfer operation took approximately six hours, with the first transfer completed at 0830 hours on 14 September.

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 (GHG) emission ammonia bunkering hub. This region was previously highlighted by a Global Maritime Forum study as a viable location for ammonia bunkering. Construction to enable renewable ammonia production by 2025 has commenced at Yara Pilbara’s facility.

The successful transfers demonstrate the operational viability of future ammonia bunkering in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

This pilot also marks a step towards operationalising a low-GHG emission shipping route for 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.

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 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 operationalise this pair of transfers, the consortium built on proven procedures and incorporated additional safety mitigation measures.

These measures include the use of emergency release couplings, emergency shutdown devices and other safety equipment, and the implementation of hot-gas and nitrogen purging procedures after ammonia transfer. These were developed in close collaboration with safety consultants, ship-to-ship transfer service providers, ports, Australian Government agencies and experienced operators of ammonia vessels and a producer.

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.