Yara Clean Ammonia Switzerland SA (Yara Clean Ammonia), a subsidiary of Yara International ASA, has entered into a time-charter contract with Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) to deliver an ammonia-fuelled medium gas carrier (AFMGC).
The vessel, which will be delivered in November 2026, will fly the Japanese flag and have a capacity of 40,000 cubic metres and a total length of 180 metres.
The time charter contract follows a four-year collaboration between Yara Clean Ammonia and NYK, who together have studied the practical application of an ammonia-fueled ammonia gas carrier.
According to NYK, the use of an AFMGC will significantly reduce GHG emissions from marine transportation while also establishing an ammonia supply chain by providing a more environmentally friendly mode of ammonia transportation as demand for ammonia in the power sector, marine fuel, and other applications grows.
Murali Srinivasan, Senior Vice President Commercial, Yara Clean Ammonia, said: “Our successful collaboration with NYK enables us not only to comply with future regulations related to CO2 emissions from sea-going vessels but also helps us to ensure that our customers can receive carbon-intensity compliant clean ammonia throughout our supply chain from well to wake.”
Hironobu Watanabe, Managing Executive Officer, NYK, added: “We have been developing an ammonia-fueled vessel because we believe that using alternative fuels, especially ammonia, is essential to reaching the net-zero goal.
“We are delighted to have concluded this time-charter contract with Yara Clean Ammonia, which has highly evaluated the AFMGC we develop with our partner companies as a next-generation fueled vessel. We will continue to work with Yara on building an ammonia supply chain from various aspects, not only in the maritime transportation of ammonia.”
In October 2024, NYK began operating a test engine facility in Chiba Prefecture to assess the safety of new fuels.