South Korean shipbuilding major HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering will install ammonia dual-fuel engines in two 46,000-cubic-meter medium-sized LPG carriers that are being built for Belgian shipping company Exmar.
The vessels, measuring 190 meters in length, 30.4 meters in width, and 18.8 meters in height, will be built at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan and delivered sequentially to Exmar by May 2026.
The duo is designed to transport both LPG and ammonia.
KSOE celebrated this momentous achievement, proudly claiming the title of being the world’s first shipyard to construct ammonia-powered vessels.
Swiss marine power company WinGD confirmed that it will deliver its ammonia-fuelled X-DF-A engines to the two newbuildings to be built for Exmar LPG BV, a joint venture of Exmar and Seapeak.
The two 52-bore X52DF-A engines will be delivered in Q2 2025 and will be among the first of WinGD’s ammonia-fuelled engines to enter service. The engines achieved the first class approval for ammonia two-stroke engines from LR in September 2023.
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering earned distinction as the first South Korean company to secure certification for an ammonia dual-fuel engine from Lloyd’s Register in the UK in 2020.
The shipbuilder has set a goal to commercialize ammonia-powered ships by 2025, a goal that saw significant progress in 2021 with the successful development of an ammonia fuel supply system—a first in the industry.
This announcement comes on the heels of KSOE’s delivery of the world’s first methanol-powered containership in July 2021, following an order placed in August 2021.
The shipbuilder’s Hyundai Heavy Industries arm is pressing ahead with the construction of the sector’s first large containership running on methanol.
Last week, Maersk’s first 16,200 TEU containership powered by methanol hit the water at HHI.
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As the maritime industry explores ammonia as a potential green fuel, safety concerns surrounding ammonia bunkering and the design of ammonia-bunkering vessels are in the spotlight.
Ammonia, despite its well-documented toxicity, has been efficiently transported as cargo on LPG ships in recent years. The industry is now shifting its focus towards the creation of specialized ammonia bunkering vessels.
This transition poses a challenge due to ammonia’s distinctive features, which include low energy density requiring larger bunkering quantities, and the need for specific safety precautions owing to its potential hazards.
However, various safety considerations are being implemented to address the challenges the bunkering of ammonia presents.