NYK commences conversion to ammonia fuel for tugboat

NYK Line has commenced conversion of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuelled tugboat Sakigake to an ammonia-fuelled tugboat (A-tug).

According to NYK, the purpose of the conversion is to achieve further reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

This modification entails the development of vessels equipped with a domestically produced ammonia-fuelled engine as part of an effort launched in October 2021 by NYK, Japan Engine Corporation, IHI Power Systems Co., Ltd., and Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd. as part of Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization’s (NEDO) Green Innovation Fund Project.

READ: NYK tests out ammonia-fuelled engines

The engine room will be cut to remove the old LNG-fuelled equipment and install the new ammonia-fuelled gear in order to replace the whole engine, including the main engine and fuel tank.

The new engine has been tested at IHI Power Systems’ Ota Plant (Gunma Prefecture) to confirm virtually zero emissions from the unburned ammonia and the nitrous oxide (N2O), which has a greenhouse effect about 300 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2).

According to NYK, the A-tug is scheduled for delivery in June 2024. The vessel will continue to be operated by Shin-Nihon Kaiyosha to verify its decarbonisation effect and operational safety as the world’s first ammonia-fuelled vessel.

In June, the Japanese classification society ClassNK gave Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and NYK Approval in Principle (AiP) for a ship capable of transporting ammonia and liquefied CO2 (LCO2).

Two months later, NYK and TB Global Technologies Ltd. (TBG), a Japanese manufacturer of cargo handling equipment for liquids, inked a preliminary agreement to create a distribution device for ammonia fuel transfer between ships.