South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has unveiled what it described as the world’s first ammonia-powered gas carriers for Belgian shipping company Exmar.
The two 46,000 cbm mid-sized gas carriers, Antwerpen and Arlon, were named at HHI’s Ulsan shipyard. The vessels are part of a four-ship series ordered through Exmar LPG France, according to the company.
The official deliveries are scheduled for May and July.
The ships are fitted with dual-fuel ammonia engines and can operate on ammonia. They also have cargo containment systems developed in-house by HHI, designed for the transport of ammonia and LPG.
Additional equipment includes a shaft generator and a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system for emissions control. The vessels also include ammonia-related safety systems such as leak detection and purge recovery.
Ammonia is drawing growing attention as a fuel option for shipping decarbonization. With ammonia engines becoming commercially available and shipowners starting to place orders, the sector is gradually moving toward wider use of the fuel.
At the same time, bunkering infrastructure remains under development. Because ammonia is toxic, its handling requires strict safety measures.
The International Energy Agency projects that ammonia could account for 8% of marine fuel demand by 2030 and 46% by 2050.
