With the maritime industry moving toward the International Maritime Organization’s 2050 net-zero target, ammonia-fueled ships are increasingly positioned as a next-generation option. While interim IMO guidance exists to enable ammonia use as a marine fuel, international standards for the safe treatment and discharge of toxic ammonia effluent produced during ship operations have not yet been established.
During operation of ammonia-fueled vessels, effluent containing toxic ammonia can be generated. This effluent differs in physical and chemical characteristics from typical aqueous ammonia, and the absence of clearly applicable international standards has created uncertainty for ship design, onboard handling, and environmental management.
To address this gap, KR (Korean Register), working with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), five major Korean shipbuilders—HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, HD Hyundai Samho, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Ocean—and the Korea Testing & Research Institute (KTR), launched an international working group in June 2025 to develop safety management measures and marine discharge standards for ammonia effluent.
The working group follows Korea’s proposal submitted to the IMO Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC) in 2024, which raised the need for dedicated safety standards for ammonia effluent. The proposal received official approval at the 83rd session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in April 2025.
To begin its 2026 activities, the working group met on 5 February 2026 at the HD Hyundai Global R&D Center, reinforcing cooperation among participating organisations on international rule development. Across 2026 and 2027, the group plans to submit draft international standards to the IMO Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR), placing Korea at the forefront of global discussions on ammonia effluent management.
At the upcoming 13th session of the IMO PPR scheduled for later this month, the Korean government delegation will highlight the urgency of guidelines for ammonia effluent management and marine discharge standards, and will propose establishing an Expert Group for in-depth technical discussions. KR is supporting the international deliberations by presenting technical evidence on safe discharge limits based on its environmental impact assessment of ammonia effluent.
KR Executive Vice President Kim Kyungbok said the IMO meetings this year mark the start of substantive international discussions on ammonia effluent safety standards, adding that KR will work with the Korean government and industry to ensure proven domestic technical standards are effectively reflected in international rulemaking.
