Itochu eyes first-mover advantage for ammonia bunkering: Japanese firm Itochu Corporation ’s Singapore-based subsidiary Clean Ammonia Bunkering Shipping has inked a shipbuilding contract with Sasaki Shipbuilding to build its first ammonia bunkering vessel, according to a statement. The firm also signed an agreement with Izumi Steel Works to build an ammonia tank plant loaded onto the Vessel and another with Japan’s Hiroshima Bank to finance a part of the Vessel’s investment ticket.

Why it matters? The shipping industry is coming under increasing pressure to decarbonize its fleets ahead of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) mandated rules to cut emissions — scheduled to come into effect in 2027. The organization also released guidance on ammonia usage back in 2024 in a bid to support efforts addressing the fuel’s availability and costs.

About the vessel: The bunkering ship — boasting a 5k cbm storage capacity for the low-emission fuel — is slated to be delivered in September 2027.

Not without challenges: Large-scale adoption of ammonia as bunkering fuel faces a set of challenges spanning cost, safety, and operations. As a starter, the alternative fuel contains less chemical energy by weight — which means it requires roughly double the storage of conventional fuel — making it more technically challenging and expensive compared to conventional fuels and LNG. Safety is also another issue, meaning more investments in tech and training are required before large scale adoption is possible, according to SP Global.

All eyes on the next two years: The integration of ammonia as a marine fuel could be technologically feasible by 2025-2026, according to a survey by the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping. The price could potentially decrease if supply and demand increase —- and production projections of 14 mn tons per year by 2027 come to fruition.

Other players in the ammonia bunkering race: UK-based global green hydrogen investment company Yamna first eyed Oman’s Salalah Port among five potential international ports for a green ammonia bunkering hub back in December 2024. The Port of Rotterdam saw its first ammonia bunkering pilot operations in April — with a ship-to-ship transfer of 800 cbm of ammonia. Singapore-based SeaTech Solutions International and Oceania Marine Energy received an approval from DNV last month for their design of a new 130 meters ammonia bunkering vessel that has a capacity of 10k cubic meters and supplies up to 9k cubic meters of fuel that can support two round-trips of iron ore shipping between Australia and North Asia.

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