Jurong Port joins the Castor Initiative
Joint development project for deepsea ammonia-fuelled tanker now has seven partners.
The Castor Initiative – the multinational coalition consisting of MISC Berhad (MISC), Lloyd’s Register (LR), Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), MAN Energy Solutions (MAN), the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and Yara International ASA (Yara) welcomes a new partner – Jurong Port to the global partnership that is committed to make zero emission shipping a reality.
This announcement follows another key project milestone in September 2021 when LR awarded Approval in Principle (AiP) to SHI for its ammonia fuel supply and fuel storage system. SHI had earlier received an AiP in September 2020 for its ammonia-fuelled tanker design.
With Jurong Port, a provider of best-in-class multipurpose port services as the Castor Initiative’s latest partner, the multinational coalition will now have an even wider and diverse circle of maritime expertise to ensure and support the complete ecosystem required for their ammonia-fuelled tanker to operate sustainably on water. True to its firm commitment to reduce total carbon footprint, Jurong Port is home to the world’s largest port-based solar power generation facility as well as the world’s first green berths.
To meet the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 2050 ambitions on halving greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2008 levels, zero-carbon vessels need to enter the world fleet by 2030.
The Castor Initiative was motivated by the partners’ shared belief that the maritime industry needs leadership and greater collaboration if shipping is to meet the IMO’s GHG ambitions. While ammonia is one of the fuels being considered by maritime stakeholders, the partners also recognise that the shipping industry will need to explore multiple decarbonisation pathways and hope their collaboration will spur others in the maritime industry to join forces on addressing this global challenge.