NYK Completes Contract for Modification of LNG-Fueled Tugboat to Ammonia-Fuel Specifications
NYK has concluded a contract with an NYK Group company, Keihin Dock Co., Ltd., to modify a tugboat to ammonia-fuel specifications. The tugboat Sakigake, currently powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and operated in Tokyo Bay by Shin-Nippon Kaisosha Corporation, will be converted to ammonia fuel by 2024.
This initiative is part of the development of vessels equipped with a domestically produced ammonia-fueled engine, which was initiated in October 2021 by NYK and IHI Power Systems Co., Ltd. (IPS) as part of the Green Innovation Fund Project* of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO).
Since ammonia combustion does not produce carbon dioxide (CO2), it is seen as a promising next-generation fuel that could lessen the impact of shipping on global warming. In addition, the use of CO2-free hydrogen as a raw material for ammonia will result in zero emissions across the whole fuel life cycle.
By using ammonia as a fuel for ships, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during journeys can be reduced. Consequently, NYK and IPS are pursuing research and development with an eye toward early social implementation.
Using ammonia as fuel presented numerous design issues throughout the development phase, but the two firms addressed these challenges without altering the size of the conventional tugboat and got Approval in Principle (AiP) from ClassNK in July 2022.
In fiscal 2023, NYK will initiate modifications to commence demonstration operations in the port of Yokohama in fiscal 2024.
Source: NYK Line
