EMEA News
Will Alternative Marine Fuel Ammonia Lead to Fully Automated Bunkering?
Bunkering on the Fortescue Green Pioneer -- an ammonia-fuelled demonstration vessel that is currently moored in London -- is close to fully automated.
Apart from connecting the shoreside fuel supply to the ship's fuel system (which requires crew in protective gear), the bunkering process is monitored at a distance and onscreen from the bridge.
Crew are not allowed on deck during bunkering as the operation is classed as high-risk. The safety level above high-risk is classed as an emergency requiring immediate evacuation.
The fuel system on the vessel is visible. Fuel tanks are situated on deck, as are the double-layered pipes that supply the fuel to the ship's engine.
In addition to the fuel system, a scrubber has been installed to neutralise any ammonia that needs to be vented from the ship.
The former platform supply ship, which is owned and operated by Fortescue, was deployed in the Australian offshore sector.
Its conversion to burn ammonia began in 2021. The ship's recent voyage to the UK from its base in Singapore ended in Southampton last week, where it bunkered about a tonne of ammonia followed by a stay in Canary Wharf, London to coincide with a roundtable event organised by the Green Hydrogen Organisation to promote ammonia as an alternative bunker fuel.
The ship's dual-fuel capacity uses diesel fuel as well as ammonia. To date, a 50/50 spilt has been achieved between the two fuels when the ship is operational.
Ammonia is one of a number of alternative marine fuels under consideration by the shipping industry. The cost of the fuel per tonne is greater than that of other, low carbon fuel alternatives such as fuel oil and liquified natural gas.
Alternative fuels with very low or zero emissions would become more attractive to operators if the cost of emissions from other fuels was reflected in their overall price.
The International Maritime Organization, which sets the rules for global shipping's operation, is in the process of forging a consensus on how best to drive forward the adoption of low-carbon fuels by the shipping industry to meet the organisation's desired policy goal of net-zero by 2050.
