World’s first ship-to-ship green ammonia bunkering completed in China

The world’s first commercial ship-to-ship green ammonia bunkering at an anchorage was completed off Zhoushan, China's Zhejiang Province, on Tuesday, marking a key accomplishment in the applicability of green fuels in international shipping. Bunkering is the process of fueling a ship, and ship-to-ship bunkering provides the distinct advantage of not requiring the ship to dock at a land-based terminal to refuel, saving time and lowering port congestion. Instead, a specialized fuel tanker vessel lines up alongside the recieving ship to transfer the required fuel directly.

As per China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC), the operation entailed 1,000 tonnes of green ammonia being transferred from the dedicated liquid ammonia bunkering vessel, Shenghang Yongle, to Mineral Europa, an ammonia-powered ship owned by Belgium's CMB.TECH. The fuel came from CEEC's Songyuan Hydrogen Energy Industrial Park in Jilin Province, the world's largest integrated green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol project which uses renewable electricity for production.

Li Jingguang, chairman of CEEC Hydrogen Energy, said "This is the first ship-to-ship green ammonia bunkering at anchorage in the global shipping industry, marking a new stage for zero-carbon shipping—from technical verification to commercial application. It also means China has taken a solid step on the new track of green shipping.”

Green ammonia is seen as one of the most promising fuels for deep-sea shipping. It can be produced using renewable power, stored as a liquid, and provides energy without releasing carbon dioxide. It can also use existing hazardous chemical storage and transport infrastructure. However, ammonia is toxic and requires strict safety management. It is also more expensive than conventional marine fuel. The Zhoushan operation was designed to test whether the safety and logistics can hold up in commercial conditions.

After bunkering, the Mineral Europa will leave Zhoushan and proceed to Australia for commercial cargo shipping. 

Previously, the use of green ammonia in global shipping remained at the trial and small-scale demonstration stage. Successful commercial bunkering has verified the feasibility of an integrated green shipping service network—production, storage and transportation, bunkering, and application—under the green hydrogen-ammonia-alcohol integrated project. It establishes a replicable business model for the large-scale export of Chinese green ammonia and for dedicated ammonia bunkering fleets.