Savannah set to be testbed for green ammonia bunkering

American Bureau of Shipping, A.P. Moller – Maersk, Fleet Management, Georgia Ports Authority, Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, Savage Services, Sumitomo Corporation and TOTE Services have announced the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly conduct a feasibility study with the aim to be one of the pioneers in establishing a comprehensive and competitive supply chain for the provision of green ammonia ship-to-ship bunkering on the US east coast. This study will be conducted at the Port of Savannah, the third busiest gateway for containerised trade in America.

The study aims to cover the entire end-to-end supply chain of ammonia bunkering, which includes the development of a cost-effective green ammonia supply chain, the design of an ammonia bunkering articulated tug-barge, as well as related supply chain infrastructure. Relevant government agencies and experts in the US will be engaged in working towards the standardisation of safe operations and regulations.

Morten Bo Christiansen, head of energy transition at A.P. Moller-Maersk, said “At Maersk, we are committed to net zero by 2040. To achieve this we need huge amounts of green fuel for our ships. For now, green methanol is the only pathway that is certain to have material impact in this decade, and we are happy to see the momentum that is building in the shipping industry on this pathway. However, given the enormity of the challenge ahead of us, we must keep exploring additional new fuel pathways. We see green ammonia as a fuel with potential in the long term for commercial shipping.”

Koji Endo, general manager of Sumitomo’s energy division, said “We embark on our ambition to build the first Ship-to-Ship ammonia bunkering base in the US in addition to Singapore and Oman.”