Trafigura committed to own and operate six ammonia-carrier vessels which will be converted to use low-carbon ammonia as their primary fuel source by 2030. This represents approximately 18% of Trafigura’s current owned fleet.
The vessels will be built with the technical capability to switch fuels from conventional fuel oil to low-carbon ammonia, when the MAN Energy Solutions two-stroke ammonia engine becomes commercially available.
This announcement came as the Trafigura became member of the First Movers Coalition, a new platform for companies to make purchasing commitments that create new market demand for low and zero carbon fuels and technologies, in eight sectors with heavy emissions.
The First Movers Coalition is an important initiative that will drive investment in technologies and solutions to achieve net zero. In the shipping sector, this marks another important signal by industry of its willingness and readiness to decarbonise
Jeremy Weir, Executive Chairman and CEO of Trafigura said.
What is more, Maersk expects to reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral ahead of 2050, as the green transition in shipping is turning out to be easier than expected.
We initially thought the challenge would be to develop a new way to run ships. But now we think we can keep the concept of the combustion engine we already know and then use methanol, or perhaps ammonia, with relatively few modifications
Maerk’s CEO, Soren Skou, stated.
