AET, the tanker arm of Malaysia’s top shipping line MISC, has hooked up with Petronas’ Petco Trading Labuan Company Ltd (PTLCL) to explore the potential deployment of a zero-emission aframax tanker that will be capable of running on green ammonia.
The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding, which is said to represent another opportunity for AET to advance its decarbonisation aspirations while providing PTLCL with a sustainable shipping option.
AET’s commitments would include selecting a suitable shipyard to construct the vessel, which both parties expect to be delivered to PTLCL for a long-term charter by 2026. Both parties stated that they intend to collaborate on design, safety, and operational aspects as well as investigate opportunities for a Southeast Asian green ammonia corridor.
“We are pleased to extend our partnership with PTLCL to explore the potential development and construction of one net-zero green ammonia aframax as we both continue our decarbonization journey to advance towards a net-zero future,” said Captain John Baptist, global director of VLCC/PCS at AET and head of MISC decarbonization unit.
Last April, AET, together with South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries and class society Lloyd’s Register, formed the Castor Initiative to develop two very large crude carriers (VLCCs) that can be operated on green ammonia. This was followed by an agreement with Thailand’s energy company PTT to develop and build two ammonia-fuelled aframaxes by the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.
