A Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation-led consortium successfully conducted ship-to-ship transfers of ammonia at anchorages within the Port of Dampier on 14 September 2024.
Two transfers took place between the Green Pioneer (owner MOL), a 35,000 cbm ammonia carrier, and the Navigator Global (owner Navigator Gas), a 22,500 cbm ammonia carrier. Yara Clean Ammonia (YCA) provided the ammonia used in the transfers.
The first transfer involved 4,000 cbm (approximately 2,700 tonnes) of ammonia from the Green Pioneer to the Navigator Global at the Port of Dampier. The same ammonia cargo was then transferred back from the Navigator Global to the Green Pioneer. Each transfer operation took approximately six hours.
Key highlights of the pilot
- Transfers reinforce Pilbara’s potential to be a green ammonia bunkering hub.
- Ammonia transfers were conducted under strict safety protocols, with requisite approvals, and overseen by Pilbara Ports and Australian Government agencies.
- The Pilbara is a highly prospective region for green shipping.
- Port Dampier has extensive experience with ammonia export given Yara’s nearby operations that account for 5% of the world’s tradable ammonia and its record of shipping 11.8 million tonnes incident-free to date.
- The transfers demonstrate the potential of breakbulk and bunkering operations in Port Dampier and nearby ports
- HAZID and HAZOP studies indicate no high-risk items across the identified risk nodes and transfers nodes after recommended mitigation measures were put in place
- CFD, Metocean analysis, and ERP were developed to enhance operational safety measures
In the absence of ammonia bunkering vessels and ammonia-fuelled ships at this stage, ship-to-ship transfers at anchorage offer the closest proxy to bunkering operations by replicating the essential steps involved. With this objective, the trial began with a transfer at the Port of Dampier as a proxy to breakbulk, leveraging the port’s experience with ammonia export. The second transfer demonstrated the potential of bunkering operations, extendable to other nearby ports where future operations for bulk carriers are expected.
To operationalize these transfers, the consortium built on proven procedures and incorporated additional safety mitigation measures. These measures include the use of emergency release couplings, emergency shutdown devices, and other safety equipment, as well as hot-gas and nitrogen purging procedures after ammonia transfer. These were developed in close collaboration with safety consultants, ship-to-ship transfer service providers, ports, Australian Government agencies, experienced operators of ammonia vessels, and a producer.
Furthermore, to mimic future ammonia bunkering scenarios, the Pilbara trials deployed a handysize and a midsize gas carrier with capacities similar to those expected of ammonia bunker vessels.
