Yara International’s subsidiary Yara Clean Ammonia has announced plans to form a joint venture with North Sea Container Line (NCL) to order and operate a container ship that will use pure ammonia as fuel.
The proposed ammonia-fuelled containership, Yara Eyde, is expected to operate between Oslo, Breivik, Hamburg and Bremerhaven. The project has been awarded a NOK40 million grant from Enova towards the cost of acquiring the low-emission boxship, which the project consortium envisages entering service in 2026.
The formation of the proposed joint venture between Yara Clean Ammonia and NCL, NCL Oslofjord AS, and the vessel order are subject to the completion of binding agreements as well as the receipt of necessary approvals from the authorities.
The announcement also specifies that the vessel will be supplied with renewable ammonia by Yara Clean Ammonia, in collaboration with Azane Fuel Solutions, an ammonia bunkering supplier that is developing a network of ammonia bunkering hubs across Norway and the wider Scandinavian region.
“Yara has chosen to participate in this project to show that this segment can create additional ammonia growth in the short term. Yara will contribute to developing this new market, but we will strategically use our funds to develop the production and logistics segment and not prioritise ship ownership,” says Magnus Krogh Ankarstrand, President of Yara Clean Ammonia.
The Motorship notes that another Norwegian consortium, Skarv Shipping, has previously announced plans to order an ammonia-fuelled bulk carrier, which is expected to operate in short-haul shipping along the Norwegian coast, from northern Norway and south to the Oslo Fjord.
