Received an Approval in Principle (AiP) Certificate for Ship-to-Ship Bunkering Boom for Fuel Ammonia from ClassNK

Sep. 30, 2024

Momentum for the practical expansion of ammonia fuel supply ships, a presentation ceremony in collaboration with TBG

NYK and TB Global Technologies Ltd. (TBG) received the certificate for approval in principle (AiP) for the ship-to-ship supply of fuel ammonia at Gastech 2024, held in Houston, U.S.A. on September 18 (local time September 17) from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK). This is the world's first* bunkering boom for ammonia-fueled vessels to receive the AiP, and will provide a major boost to the expansion of the practical application of ammonia-fueled vessels.

The most distinctive feature of the boom is a TBG-developed emergency-release system that allows the connection between an ammonia-fueled vessel and an ammonia bunkering vessel (ABV) to be disconnected instantly in an emergency.

In acquiring the AiP, NYK provided design data for its in-house developed ABV. In addition, to improve the safety and operability of the equipment, NYK provided knowledge on the handling of ammonia gained by NYK from its ammonia-transport business and expertise gained from Kaguya, Japan's first LNG bunkering vessel. Kaguya is operated by Central LNG Marine Fuel Corporation, of which NYK is the largest shareholder.

NYK will continue collaborating with companies in Japan and overseas and actively promoting research and development of facilities and equipment that consider the natural environment and crew safety.

* The “world’s first” claim is as of September 18, 2024, according to TBG, the entity responsible for obtaining the AiP.

On March 10, 2023, the NYK Group released its medium-term management plan “Sail Green, Drive Transformations 2026 — A Passion for Planetary Wellbeing.” The NYK Group is promoting growth strategies with ESG at the core, based on the Group’s basic philosophy of “Bringing value to life” and a new corporate vision for 2030, which reads, “we go beyond the scope of a comprehensive global logistics enterprise to co-create value required for the future by advancing our core business and growing new ones.”