Chilean ammonium nitrate producer Enaex and NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers (NBP), a subsidiary of Japanese shipping major NYK Group, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly research the feasibility of supplying low-carbon ammonia to ammonia-fueled ships.
Under the MoU, Enaex and NBP will work out the details to supply low-carbon ammonia to 10 to 15 ammonia-fueled Handymax bulkers that NBP plans to build in the late 2020s and beyond.
The vessels will transport copper products from Chile to the Far East for Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (CODELCO).
In the future, low-carbon ammonia will be supplied to the vessels at the Mejillones ammonia terminal in the Antofagasta region of northern Chile.
Back in 2022, CODELCO and NBP entered into an MoU in Singapore to jointly study the decarbonized transportation of copper products. The two companies vowed to jointly promote the evaluation and development of next-generation fuel technologies and study the use of decarbonized vessels for the oceangoing transport of copper products.
A year later, an MoU was signed with Oshima Shipbuilding and Sumitomo Corporation to design and construct what NBP said would be the world’s first ammonia dual-fuel Handymax bulk carrier .