With support from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Fortescue has trialed a dual-fueled ammonia-powered vessel in the Port of Singapore.
This was the world’s first use of ammonia, in combination with diesel in the combustion process, as a marine fuel, Fortescue says. The Singapore-flagged ammonia-powered vessel, named the Fortescue Green Pioneer, was loaded with liquid ammonia from the existing ammonia facility at Vopak Banyan Terminal on Jurong Island for the trial.
In completing the fuel trial, the Fortescue Green Pioneer has also received flag approval from the Singapore Registry of Ships (SRS) and the Gas Fuelled Ammonia notation by classification society DNV to use ammonia, in combination with diesel, as a marine fuel.
Fortescue Green Pioneer
The Fortescue Green Pioneer started its journey toward becoming the world’s first ocean-going ammonia-powered vessel in 2022 when Fortescue converted a four-stroke engine to run on ammonia, in combination with diesel, at its land-based testing facility in Perth, Western Australia.
Following the land-based testing, conversion work commenced on the vessel at Seatrium’s Benoi yard in July 2023. This included the installation of the gas fuel delivery system, safety systems and infrastructure, and the successful conversion of two of the vessel’s four engines to enable the use of ammonia, combined with diesel in the combustion process, to power the vessel. The two remaining engines on board the Fortescue Green Pioneer will operate on conventional fuels when required.
In December 2023, the vessel sailed from Singapore to the Middle East and was showcased at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and associated meetings (COP28/CMP18/CMA5) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Safety and training preparations
In preparation for the vessel’s operations in Singapore, hazard identification study and hazard and operability study workshops were jointly organized by MPA, Fortescue, Vopak, research institutes and industry partners to identify the potential risks during fuel transfer and engine trials and to develop the necessary prevention, control and mitigation measures.
Training, including gas-specific hazardous materials emergency responses and MPA-led safety drills, were also conducted to assess the operational readiness and preparedness of crew during an incident. All crew attained the necessary proficiencies on the new enhanced procedures prior to the conduct of the trials.
An ammonia plume model was jointly developed by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s Institute of High Performance Computing (A-STAR’s IHPC), Nanyang Technological University’s Maritime Energy and Sustainable Development Centre of Excellence (MESD), the Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine, Singapore (TCOMS), and the National University of Singapore’s Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) to determine the safety envelope, model the dispersion of an ammonia plume in an event of an incident and to support the safety and incident response planning.
The model, which accounted for the Fortescue Green Pioneer’s vessel and engine design parameters, behavior of ammonia within Singapore’s tropical climate, sea current conditions, and surrounding vessels, infrastructure and geometries, was used to guide the operations. It is intended to be continually enhanced as operations for new maritime fuels scale up in the Port of Singapore.
First ammonia fuel trial in Singapore
The fuel trial was conducted over a period of seven weeks and included rigorous testing of the Fortescue Green Pioneer’s ammonia storage systems, associated piping, gas fuel delivery system, retrofitted engines and seaworthiness. The tests were conducted in phases to ensure safe port operations and safety for crew members and engineers who have completed a series of rigorous training sessions since October 2023. As part of the safety protocols for the conduct of these tests, crew members also donned personal protection equipment such as chemical protection suits, nitrile chemical gloves, rubber boots, positive pressure masks and hoods, and portable gas detectors for the relevant operations.
The two four-stroke retrofitted engines served as a proxy for the commercialization of ammonia-fuelled marine engines under development globally. The post-combustion nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels met the local air quality standard, while efforts to reduce the pilot fuel for combustion ignition and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions post-combustion will continue as more ammonia-fuelled marine engines and ammonia sources with lower greenhouse gas emissions become available.
Ammonia fuel loading at Vopak Banyan Terminal on Jurong Island, Singapore
The 5m3 (3 metric tons) of liquid ammonia used for the fuel trial was supplied by Vopak using its existing infrastructure at the 10,000m3 Vopak Banyan Terminal on Jurong Island. As part of the risk management, extensive pre-operations, safety checks and tests were conducted. A second tranche of 3 metric tons of liquid ammonia will be loaded for the Fortescue Green Pioneer to conduct further tests and trials over the next few weeks.
Milestone for international shipping
Teo Eng Dih, chief executive of MPA, said, “The safe conduct of this fuel trial supports the holistic assessment of the use of ammonia as a marine fuel, and the development of standards and safety procedures. This will inform the crew training, emergency and bunkering procedures which MPA, agencies and the tripartite community are developing in support of making available safe and cost-efficient solutions as MaritimeSG and the international shipping community undergo the energy transition.”
Dr Andrew Forrest AO, chairman of Fortescue, added, “Australia and Singapore are nations for whom the seas are our lifeblood and Fortescue has seen firsthand the willingness of Singapore to lead the world in taking brave, innovative action to build green ammonia shipping. My message to the Singaporean government is only green is green. Anything else is made from fossil fuels. The Fortescue Green Pioneer is proof that safe, technical solutions for ammonia power engines exist. But as I did at COP 28 in Dubai, I am once again calling on the world’s ports to get on with setting fair, safe and stringent fuel standards for green ammonia and not shy away from their responsibilities simply because of a lack of character. We must push to see global emitters paying fair carbon prices for heavy fuels used in traditional shipping. These prices must provide clear investment signals to drive green investment.”
In related news, a Lloyd’s Register report, named Fuel for thought: Ammonia, recently highlighted the need for an industry-wide understanding of the operational and safety challenges surrounding the use of ammonia as a marine fuel, for its adoption as part of the maritime energy transition. Click here to read the full story.
