LNG-fueled Tugboat Sakigake completes final LNG Bunkering, to be converted to Ammonia-fueled Tugboat.
On July 25, the LNG-fueled tugboat Sakigake, operated in Tokyo Bay by the NYK Group’s Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha, conducted its last bunkering at Yokohama Shinko pier as a vessel fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG). Sakigake is scheduled to undergo conversion work in fiscal 2023 and will be re-commissioned the following fiscal year as an ammonia-fueled tugboat with even lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
On the same day, a ceremony was held in Yokohama to commemorate the last LNG bunkering by the vessel.
The NYK Group will continue to promote the further development of an energy shift to next-generation fuels such as ammonia in the Group’s aim to achieve low-carbonization and decarbonization in the maritime industry.
In a Press release Last Year, NYK Concludes Contract for Modification of LNG-Fueled Tugboat to Ammonia-Fuel Specifications
NYK has concluded a contract with Keihin Dock Co., Ltd., an NYK Group company, to modify a tugboat to ammonia-fuel specifications. Sakigake, a tugboat currently fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and operated in Tokyo Bay by NYK Group company Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha Corporation will be converted to operate on ammonia fuel by a target completion year of 2024.
This initiative is part of the development of vessels equipped with a domestically produced ammonia-fueled engine, which was initiated in October 2021 by NYK and IHI Power Systems Co., Ltd. (IPS) as part of the Green Innovation Fund Project of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
Since carbon dioxide (CO2) is not emitted when ammonia is combusted, ammonia is viewed to have promise as a next-generation fuel that could mitigate shipping’s impact on global warming. In addition, it is said that zero emissions can be realized throughout the fuel life cycle by utilizing CO2-free hydrogen** as a raw material for ammonia.
By using ammonia as a fuel for ships, it will be possible to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during voyages. Therefore, NYK and IPS are proceeding with research and development aiming for early social implementation.
In the development process, there were various design challenges in using ammonia as fuel, but the two companies overcame these challenges without changing the size of the conventional tugboat and received Approval in Principle (AiP) from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) in July 2022.
NYK will begin modification in fiscal 2023 with the aim of realizing demonstration operations in the port of Yokohama in fiscal 2024.
Source NYK Line