The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) and the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF) announce today the signing of a 2-year Coalition Partnership agreement during Gastech 2023.
Under this partnership agreement, GCMD and SGMF will collaborate to shape standards through developing guidelines on the use of ammonia as a marine fuel.
SGMF’s guidelines for LNG bunkering are widely referenced by ports and users of LNG as a marine fuel. These guidelines address specific requirements for LNG use and establish a framework of competence to safely handle LNG, including operational details for relevant ships and transfer equipment.
In April 2023, GCMD and its appointed consultant DNV Maritime Advisory, supported by Surbana Jurong and the Singapore Maritime Academy at the Singapore Polytechnic, completed a 9-month ammonia bunkering safety study. With inputs from 22 industry partners and feedback from 8 regulatory agencies, this report has deepened collective knowledge for future safe ammonia bunkering, ahead of ammonia bunker tankers and ammonia propelled vessels becoming available.
Ammonia is a chemical feedstock today and is being developed as a low-emissions marine fuel for the future. Findings from GCMD’s ammonia bunkering safety study can support SGMF and its stakeholders to develop guidelines as the maritime industry pivots towards using this low-/zero-carbon fuel. Furthermore, learnings from GCMD’s upcoming ship-to-ship ammonia transfer pilots in port waters can also help enhance ammonia bunkering safety guidelines.