ABS awards AiP to Korea Maritime Consultants for new ammonia-fuelled container ship

Classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) on Tuesday (11 July) said it awarded an approval in principle (AiP) to maritime design and engineering services firm Korea Maritime Consultants Co., Ltd. (KOMAC) for an innovative design of an ammonia-fuelled container ship.  

The 3,600-TEU vessel is a design from KOMAC to address what they forecast as an increase in market need for small-scale, ammonia-fuelled vessels.

Given the challenging characteristics of ammonia, ABS conducted a comprehensive review and participated in the risk assessment of the ammonia fuel system in the AiP process to address safety and reliability.

Panos Koutsourakis, ABS Vice President, Global Sustainability, said: “Ammonia offers both significant potential to contribute to shipping’s emissions reduction challenge and significant challenge due to its toxic properties. ABS is leading the industry in developing solutions to this safety challenge and supporting first movers like Komac to take advantage of ammonia’s zero-carbon potential.” 

Lee Sung-Ryong, Head of KOMAC’s think tank, said, “KOMAC offers Korea’s best engineering and technology services for shipbuilding. By providing these services to international and domestic small and medium-sized shipyards, we are supporting the revitalisation of these important facilities.”

Photo credit: ABS
Published: 19 July, 2023