World’s First Ship-To-Ship Ammonia Transfer Completed At Australia’s Port Dampier

STS Ammonia Transfer — Image Credits: Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation/Linkedin

The world’s first ship-to-ship ammonia transfer at anchorage was successfully carried out in the Port of Dampier Pilbara region of Western Australia on September 14, 2024.

The trial, led by a consortium that includes the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonization (GCMD), the Pilbara Ports Authority, and Yara Clean Ammonia (YCA), aims to establish Pilbara as a major ammonia bunkering hub and advance ammonia as a viable maritime fuel.

The operation involved two ship-to-ship transfers between the Green Pioneer, a 35,000 cubic metre (cbm) ammonia carrier owned by MOL, and the Navigator Global, a 22500 cbm ammonia carrier owned by Navigator Gas.

The transfers, each handling 4,000 cbm (about 2,700 tonnes) of ammonia, were conducted successfully, each taking about six hours.

Ammonia Transfer — Image Credits: Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation/Linkedin

The Green Pioneer first transferred ammonia to Navigator Global, which was then returned to the Green Pioneer.

The successful completion of these transfers is expected to strengthen Pilbara’s position as a low-GHG emission ammonia bunkering hub.

The initiative complies with previous studies by the Global Maritime Forum, which have demonstrated the region’s suitability for ammonia bunkering.

Yara Pilbara facility will begin construction for renewable ammonia production by 2025.

The successful pilot is particularly important because it represents a major advancement in establishing a low-GHG emission shipping route for international iron ore trade.

Ship-To-Ship Ammonia Transfer — Image Credits: Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation/Linkedin

According to a 2023 study by Pilbara Ports, Lloyd’s Register, and Yara Clean Ammonia, this route is expected to require 1 to 1.5 million tonnes of ammonia by 2035.

The transfer used the Port of Dampier’s existing knowledge of ammonia exports. It included various safety measures, such as emergency release couplings, emergency shutdown devices, and hot-gas and nitrogen purging procedures.

These safety measures were developed after discussions with safety consultants, ship-to-ship transfer service providers, ports, Australian government agencies, and experienced ammonia vessel operators.

The operation conducted extensive safety and risk assessments, including Hazard Identification (HAZID) and Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) examinations, which found no high-risk items throughout the transfer operations.

A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) dispersion analysis revealed a maximum plume length of less than one nautical mile within safe operational limits.

The successful transfer of the ammonia has received appreciation from industry stakeholders.

Yara Clean Ammonia described the operation as a major step towards decarbonizing shipping. Yara’s Chief Operations Officer, Laurent Trost, talked about the trial’s positive impact on Pilbara’s decarbonization efforts and ongoing projects, including the Project Yuri renewable hydrogen demonstration plant and carbon capture and storage initiatives.

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonization also plans to use the insights gained from the transfer to explore the feasibility of ammonia transfer at other ports and further develop ammonia bunkering infrastructure.

Reference: Yara, Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation

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