MOL, TSUNEISHI and MES-S Acquire AiP for Ammonia-fueled Vessel from ClassNK and Lloyd’s

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto; Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo), TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING Co., Ltd. (TSUNEISHI; President: Sachio Okumura; Headquarters: Fukuyama-shi, Hiroshima Prefecture), and Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (MES-S; President: Yasunori Kohatake; Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo) today announced that they have conducted risk assessments of their jointly developed, ammonia-fueled ocean-going liquefied gas carrier (Note 1), and on April 10, received Approval in Principle (AiP) for the vessel from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK; Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) and Lloyd's Register of Shipping (Headquarters: the U.K.). This is the first case ever that two classes AiP, ClassNK and Lloyd's, have been issued.

The vessel is a mid-size ammonia/LPG carrier equipped with a main engine that can run on ammonia (Note 2), which emits no CO2 during combustion. The vessel uses some of the ammonia loaded as cargo as fuel, with the aim of achieving net-zero CO2 emissions while underway.

Ammonia is expected to be a next-generation clean energy source, but special measures are needed to ensure sufficient safety against its characteristics of flammability, toxicity, and corrosiveness. In addition, there are currently no international regulations on the use of ammonia as a marine fuel. Therefore, the three companies conducted hazard identification studies (HAZID) (Note 3) with ClassNK and Lloyd's, respectively, which have in-depth knowledge of ship safety and guidelines for ammonia-fueled vessels. As a result of the risk assessment of using ammonia as marine fuel from multiple perspectives, both classification societies recognized the safety of the vessel's basic design.

Leveraging the knowledge gained from these risk assessments and AiP acquisition, the three companies will move ahead with the design of the vessel, which will be a net-zero emission ocean-going vessel, with an eye toward delivery around 2026.

Anticipating an increase in the need for ammonia as a marine fuel and greater demand for transporting it, the three companies are committed to playing a role in society's overall decarbonization efforts by providing clean ocean transport solutions with zero-emission ocean-going vessels.

(Note 1) Related press release
June 24, 2022: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Tsuneishi Shipbuilding, and Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding Start Joint Development on Net Zero Emission Ammonia-fueled Ocean-going Liquefied Gas Carrier

(Note 2) Related press release
October 18, 2021: MOL, MAN ES, and MES-M Sign a Memorandum of Understanding aiming to order Ammonia Fueled Main Engine for Ships

(Note 3) HAZID addresses risk assessment and management to ensure that a system as a whole is sufficiently safe based on discussions among experts regarding the magnitude and frequency of potential hazards in the system.

[Outline of the vessel]
LOA: About 180m
Breadth: About 30m
Depth: About 19m
Cargo tank capacity: About 40,000m3
Main engine: Mitsui-MAN B&W type S60 two-stroke dual-fuel ammonia engine (under development)