Navigator Gas awarded AiP for new ammonia-fueled gas carrier
By on September 23, 2021
Navigator Gas has been awarded AiP for the design of its new, ammonia-fueled gas carrier. An industry-wide consortium including MAN ES, Babcock International, and the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) collaborated on the design. Navigator Gas’ current fifty-plus fleet includes seven fully-refrigerated vessels for the large-scale transport of LPG and ammonia: pictured is the 38,000 m3 LPG-carrying Jorf.
Navigator Gas been discussing Ammonia as a fuel with our consortium partners since 2018, when this topic was on the fringes of discussions surrounding decarbonisation and the use of alternative fuels.
Those early discussions on feasibility led to the completion of a comprehensive HAZID in early 2019, which remains as valid today as it was then. This has also been used as the base safety case during our AiP discussions with DNV.
Since our discussions began, we have witnessed an exponential increase in the number of projects around the globe looking at Hydrogen and Ammonia as carbon free source of energy. We have also been engaging with our customers and business partners to discuss their carbon free shipping requirements for transporting Blue/Green Ammonia to their customers.
Paul Flaherty, Technical Advisor to Navigator Gas in DNV’s official press release, 17 September 2021
Ammonia ship engines on track
In the press release, MAN ES also confirmed their two-stroke ammonia engine is on track to becoming commercially available by 2024, with retrofits available from 2025:
MAN Energy Solutions is happy to work with industry partners in decarbonising the maritime economy where, for us, the path starts with fuel decarbonisation. Here, several zero-carbon fuels offer significant potential, with ammonia of especial interest. Since large quantities of ammonia are already transported around the world, it is a well-established commodity and using it to power ships would be a natural step. In this context, we have already announced that we expect to be make a dual-fuel, two-stroke ammonia engine commercially available for large-scale ocean-going ships by 2024, followed by a retrofit package to make existing maritime vessels capable of running on ammonia by 2025.
Thomas S. Hansen, Head of Promotion and Customer Support, MAN Energy Solutions in DNV’s official press release, 17 September 2021