NYK set to achieve world’s first truck-to-ship fuel bunkering

NYK will supply fuel ammonia at the end of May to an NYK-owned ammonia-fueled tugboat scheduled to be completed in June. A ceremony marking the announcement was held on April 10 at Sea Japan 2024, an international event attended by many people involved in the maritime industry.

The announcement took place at the “GI Foundation for the Development of Ships with Domestic Ammonia-Fueled Engines” booth and was attended by Yuichiro Kato, head of the Low Carbon Fuel Value Chain Division at JERA Co., Inc. (hereinafter “JERA”); Hiroshi Adachi, executive officer and general manager of the Basic Chemicals Business Unit at Resonac Corporation (hereinafter “Resonac”); Takeshi Kato, president and representative director of Shin-Nihon Kaiyosha; and Osamu Shimada, executive officer at Tokyo Power Technology Ltd. (hereinafter Tokyo Power Technology).

Last December, JERA, Resonac, and NYK signed an agreement to jointly study the supply of fuel ammonia to ships and have been working together to establish safe operation methods, build a system for transporting and receiving ammonia in port areas, and lobby relevant authorities to formulate various rules for the supply.

Having reached a safe and secure point of supplying fuel ammonia to ships, NYK has decided to supply fuel from an ammonia lorry (tank truck) at the end of May to the soon-to-be-completed A-Tug at the port of Yokohama. If realized, this will be the world’s first case of fuel ammonia replenishment to a ship using the truck-to-ship method.

A fuel-supply agreement was also announced for the regular supply of fuel ammonia after the completion of the A-tug between Shin Nippon Kaiyosha, an NYK Group company that operates the A-tug, and JERA, a marine fuel ammonia supplier, marking a significant step toward the widespread use of fuel ammonia in the marine transport industry. The NYK Group will continue to develop business activities that consider the global environment through the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its oceangoing shipping business and contribute to strengthening the international competitiveness of the Japan Maritime Cluster in the global shipping industry’s efforts toward decarbonization.