Fortescue completed propulsion and manoeuvrability trials using ammonia as bunker fuel on one of its vessels in Singapore.

PHOTO: Fortescue vessel, the Fortescue Green Pioneer, trials ammonia as bunker fuel in the Singapore Port. Fortescue

Australian mining company Fortescue bunkered one of its vessels, Fortescue Green Pioneer, with 4.4 mt of liquid ammonia in the Port of Singapore for a 10-day trial. The second round of trial followed the initial seven-day trial using 3 mt of liquid ammonia as bunker fuel.

Biofuel blend of hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) and diesel was used as a pilot fuel for the second trial. However, the Singapore ammonia trial consortium has not revealed the blend and pilot fuel ratios.

The consortium established an emergency operations center to monitor bunkering and trial operations. Safety measures included “ammonia plume modelling and drone surveillance”, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said.

Plume modelling of ammonia refers to simulating the dispersion and behaviour of ammonia released into the atmosphere.

“The propulsion and manoeuvrability trials also included tests to validate the management of nitrogen-based emissions, and assessment of the vessel’s engine capability to operate on varying amounts of HVO in combination with ammonia,” the MPA added.

Liquid ammonia was supplied by Vopak using its existing infrastructure on Jurong Island.

There are four engines on the Fortescue Green Pioneer, two of which are retrofitted dual-fuel engines that can run on both ammonia and conventional fuels. The vessel has also received a gas-fuelled ammonia notation from classification society DNV.

“This set of trials can be enhanced to support the sea trials of planned ammonia-fuelled vessels under the Singapore Registry of Ships prior to delivery if required,” Teo Eng Dih, chief executive of MPA said in a social media post.

By Konica Bhatt

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