A consortium led by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) has successfully conducted ship-to-ship transfers of ammonia at anchorages within the Port of Dampier, one of the five ports in the Pilbara Ports complex, in Western Australia.
Two transfers took place between the ammonia carriers Green Pioneer (owner MOL), of 35,000m3 and the 22,500m3 Navigator Global (owner Navigator Gas). Yara Clean Ammonia (YCA) provided the ammonia used in the transfers. The first transfer involved 4,000m3 (about 2,700t) of ammonia from the Green Pioneer to the Navigator Global at the Port of Dampier. The same ammonia cargo was then transferred back from the Navigator Global to the Green Pioneer. Each transfer operation took around six hours.
A tripartite collaboration between GCMD, Pilbara Ports and YCA has been formed to realise Pilbara’s potential as a low-GHG ammonia bunkering hub. The successful transfers demonstrate the operational viability of future ammonia bunkering in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The pilot marks a step towards a low-GHG shipping route for international iron ore trade, which is projected to require 1 to 1.5 million tonnes of ammonia by 2035, according to a joint study undertaken by Pilbara Ports, Yara Clean Ammonia and Lloyd’s Register. In the absence of ammonia bunkering vessels and ammonia-fuelled ships at this stage, ship-to-ship transfers at anchorage offer the closest proxy to bunkering operations when it replicates the essential steps involved. The consortium has built on proven procedures and incorporated additional safety measures, including emergency release couplings, emergency shutdown devices and implementation of hot-gas and nitrogen purging procedures after ammonia transfer.
Following various studies, a Pilbara-specific draft emergency response plan (ERP) has been developed by Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) and partners BlueTack and Stream Marine Technical. The findings and recommendations were presented to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), the Department of Transport (DoT), and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES).
In preparation for the next phase of GCMD’s initiative to enable ammonia as a marine fuel, GCMD will be leveraging the experience and knowledge gained from this pair of transfers to assess the feasibility of ammonia transfer elsewhere to ready other forward-looking ports for eventual ammonia bunkering.
Professor Lynn Loo, CEO, GCMD said: “This ammonia transfer pilot is a testament to the deliberate collaboration and rigorous planning of all parties involved. Beyond addressing the technical and operational challenges, executing this pilot required us to navigate complex commercial landscapes, including securing vessels and managing cargo transfer, as well as uncertainties and spur-of-the-moment hiccups that arise during operations. We are deeply grateful to all our partners for their open exchanges and unwavering support, without which this pioneering effort would not have been possible. This pilot marks a crucial step towards readying the ecosystem for using ammonia as a marine fuel, paving the way for eventual bunkering when ammonia-fuelled vessels become available.”
Image: Hose connections between ‘Green Pioneer’ and ‘Navigator Global’ for ammonia transfer (source: Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation)
