NYK could build 10-15 ammonia-powered bulkers

The project is also supported by Oshima Shipbuilding Co and Sumitomo Corp. Together the partners will study, design and construct the bulker. 

The announcement comes a year after Codelco and NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers (NBP) signed a memorandum to jointly develop ways of transporting copper with a reduced CO2 footprint.

The parties envision this Handymax as the first of a fleet of between 10 and 15 vessels NBP will operate, transporting copper from Chile – the world’s largest copper producer – to the Far East. Copper demand is expected to increase significantly this decade, with demand coming from offshore wind power generation and the spread of electric vehicles.

NYK Group said the vessel will be equipped with a dual-fuel engine capable of using both heavy fuel oil and ammonia as fuel. 

Some of the first dual-fuel ammonia engines for maritime applications will roll out next year. MAN Energy Solutions announced a successful combustion test of a two-stroke engine running on ammonia in August. 

A new roadmap from the International Energy Agency believes it will be ammonia, not methanol, that must play a major role if shipping is to meet its emissions reductions targets by 2050.

But questions remain on the commercial availability of the fuel itself. New fuels like ammonia are more expensive to procure and pose unique challenges. 

NYK Group notes that ammonia requires a lower amount of heat per unit compared to heavy oil and LNG, which demands a larger fuel tank installed aboard a smaller bulker like a Handymax. That poses a further dilemma to shipowners, who must confront trade-offs between fuel costs and freight revenues as the volumetric physics of ammonia means ships that run on it have to install bigger tanks to travel the same distance, with less space for cargo.

Codelco chairman of the board Máximo Pacheco remarked, “Codelco has an obligation to take the lead in making its own mining more sustainable. The study on the construction of the ammonia-fueled Handymax bulker is the world’s first national project to demonstrate the feasibility of energy conversion and GHG emissions reduction. It is a big signal to make.” 

Separately, NYK Group has also begun converting an LNG-fuelled tugboat to ammonia. The vessel is operated by Shin-Nihon Kaiyosha and the project is funded as part of the Green Innovation Fund Project of Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization.