Page 258 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΜΑΙΟΣ 2024

ΤECHNOLOGY & SHIPBUILDING

panies worldwide. Currently, all preparations for Yara Clean Ammonia, Azane and Fjord Base will now
green methanol bunkering in Shanghai Port have Ammonia commence work with their project partners to obtain
been completed. is widely a permit from the local municipality before making a
“Through this cooperation with SIPG, we have recognised as final investment decision.
expanded our green fuel supply chain in China, a low-emissions
following Korea and Singapore. We will continue shipping fuel. NYK AND JMU FORMULATING METHOD FOR
to strive for various efforts to find a way to go Even though EVALUATING SHIP PERFORMANCE IN
green”, said an HMM official. interest in ACTUAL SEA CONDITIONS
ammonia as NYK and Japan Marine United Corporation are mutu-
YARA CLEAN AMMONIA AND AZANE a decarbonised ally formulating a method for estimating a ship’s
GRANTED SAFETY PERMIT TO BUILD shipping fuel performance in actual seas before construction is
WORLD’S FIRST LOW-EMISSION is high, the completed and recently completed verification of a
AMMONIA BUNKERING TERMINAL final leg vessel’s propulsive performance in wind and wave
The Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection of the conditions in actual seas.
gave their approval to the construction of the journey, from The two companies aim to know a vessel’s perfor-
planned ammonia bunkering facility at Fjord the production mance in actual seas before the conclusion of a ship-
Base in Florø, Norway. The permit marks a sig- plant to the building contract and aid in the reduction of GHG
nificant milestone for enabling ammonia as a vessel, has emissions by procuring highly fuel-efficient vessels.
safe and low-emission alternative to traditional been missing. In conventional shipbuilding contracts, the guar-
shipping fuels. anteed speed is set and agreed upon based on the
Ammonia is widely recognised as a low-emis- relationship between the ship’s speed and horse-
sions shipping fuel. Even though interest in power in calm waters, and the shipyard and shipping
ammonia as a decarbonised shipping fuel is company mutually confirm the guaranteed speed
high, the final leg of the journey, from the pro- during sea trials in the final phase of construction.
duction plant to the vessel, has been missing. However, since actual voyages are strongly affected
Now, Yara Clean Ammonia, Azane and Fjord Base by waves and winds, the guaranteed performance
have demonstrated how the planned ammonia in calm seas deviates significantly from the perfor-
bunkering terminal can meet the strict safety mance in actual seas.
requirements of the Norwegian Directorate for NYK and JMU introduced a clause guaranteeing ship
Civil Protection (DSB). performance in actual seas in a shipbuilding contract
The planned terminal consists of a floating sta- in September 2020 and have been working to verify
tionary barge with a capacity of 1,000 cubic performance in actual seas.
meters, or 650 tonnes, of low-emission ammo-
nia. The permit allows for up to 416 operations Overview of Verification
annually, many of these expected to be bunker- 1. NYK and JMU selected two new VLCCs designed
ing operations for offshore supply vessels that and built at JMU as target vessels and collected data
regularly call at Fjord Base in Florø. on vessel speed, main engine horsepower, wind direc-
The planned terminal is part of Yara Clean tion, wind speed, etc., for one year from the delivery
Ammonia and Azane’s efforts to make low-emis- of the vessels in 2022.
sion ammonia a common fuel for shipping. 2. In actual seas, the two companies mutually verified
With ammonia’s potential to fully decarbonise the degree of achievement against the guaranteed
the maritime sector, the companies plan to roll speed/power curve formulated in 2020. The evalua-
out a network of terminals in Scandinavia. This tion determined the difference between the guaran-
milestone is important to meet the growing teed speed/power curve and the vessel’s data for each
demand for ammonia as shipping fuel, as well wind direction (headwind, crosswind, and tailwind)
as incentives needed to enable ship operators and calculated the average value.
and owners to switch from high-emitting but 3. NYK and JMU confirmed that the guaranteed speed/
cheaper fuels to the low-emission alternative of power curve for the ship performance in actual seas
ammonia. Demand seems to be gaining momen- was highly accurate. Both companies agreed to estab-
tum in Norway as ENOVA, which manages the lish an analysis and evaluation method to evaluate ship
Norwegian Climate and Energy fund on behalf performance in actual seas technically and objectively
of the government, is planning ammonia grant for specific routes.
tenders for both ammonia-powered ships and 4. One of the two new VLCCs was built using JMU tech-
ammonia infrastructure in 2024. There are mul- nology to improve the shape of the vessel’s hull for better
tiple newbuilding projects in the pipeline and performance in actual sea conditions, and the two com-
ongoing ammonia-powered Platform Supply panies confirmed a significant difference in this ship’s
Vessels (PSV) tender processes. performance in actual sea conditions, as expected.

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