Japanese shipping giant Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and trading house Mitsui & Co have penned a charter contract for ammonia shipping.
The 2004-built 35,850 cu m gas carrier Berlian Ekuator, owned and operated by NYK, will be used for the shipments of fuel ammonia to JERA’s Hekinan Thermal Power Station, where Japan’s largest utility is carrying out fuel-conversion demonstration tests.
The goal is to demonstrate a test of 20% fuel substitution with ammonia in fiscal 2023, which will be the world’s first such project to use a large amount of fuel ammonia in a large commercial coal-fired power plant.
An agreement for ammonia supply between Mitsui and JERA was signed in June.
NYK said the latest deal would serve to accumulate practical knowledge on the handling of ammonia and develop a shipping system for the future expansion of the fuel ammonia market.
In the company’s “ESG Story 2023,” published in November, NYK set new targets that include a 45% reduction of its greenhouse gas scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 versus 2021, including work on research and development of ships fueled by ammonia.