The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation  on Wednesday (18 October) launched its inaugural Impact Report, highlighting its four initiatives to help decarbonise the maritime industry since its establishment in 2021.

The Impact Report shares progress of the initiative the centre is working on:

Ammonia as a marine fuel

GCMD has completed a safety study identifying the risks associated with ammonia transfer. The study shows that these risks (totalling more than 400) can and should be mitigated to as low as reasonably practicable levels.

Given the need to specify location and other details for hazard identification (HAZID) and coarse quantitative risk assessment (c-QRA), GCMD specified the port of Singapore for the safety study. With Singapore’s position as a major maritime hub with constrained operating areas, i.e. busy sea space, proximity to economic activities, sensitive receptors and stringent specifications in port limits, piloting ammonia bunkering in Singapore will make the guidelines extensible to ports elsewhere in the world.

Following the release of the study, the GCMD projects team, led by Lau Wei Jie, Director of Partnerships and technical lead on this ammonia initiative, is making preparations for piloting ship-to-ship (STS) cargo transfer, within the Port of Singapore, and also at ports elsewhere to ready stakeholders and the ecosystem for ammonia bunkering when ammonia-fuelled vessels become available. 

This exercise will help build confidence by undertaking an established operation (i.e. STS transfer of cargo in open waters) within port limits where the risk profiles are substantially elevated to understand and help address regulatory and emergency response requirements. In parallel, conversations have commenced with overseas port authorities and port masters to understand local considerations, including limitations on existing berths for loading/discharging of ammonia, anchorage locations, proximity to sensitive receptors and safety requirements. These discussions help GCMD identify how we can support the building up of capabilities in multiple geographies to support ammonia bunkering.

GCMD is also working closely with Oil Spill Response Limited and their partner BlueTack to develop emergency response procedures. 

GCMD has also initiated discussions with Singapore Maritime Academy to co-develop a competency framework to establish training curricula for manpower development in handling ammonia as a bunker fuel. This culminated in a training module on the handling of ammonia as a bunker fuel within SMA’s current course.

Assurance framework for drop-in green fuels

According to CEO Prof Lynn Loo, GCMD successfully completed the trialling of three independent supply chains employing physical tracers and bunkering biofuel blends on five vessels in two different ports. These learnings form the basis of an assurance framework that GCMD is currently drafting. 

“Testing of crude algae oil as a marine fuel has begun and GCMD looks forward to supply chain trials in the near future,” she said. 

With the data collected from the completed trials and additional data to be collected from the remaining two supply chains, GCMD is working with BCG, an Impact Partner, to develop a robust framework for GHG accounting and conduct green premium cost-benefit analysis of deploying biofuels.

The learnings from these trials and details of the framework will be shared broadly through a public report that will be published in early 2024.

Unlocking the carbon value chain

GCMD is working on the engineering design of a shipboard carbon capture system and collaborating with landside partners to understand the challenges and opportunities of offloading and offtaking captured CO2.

Energy efficiency technologies

GCMD is scoping several pilots to implement energy savings devices onboard vessels with the intention to help close the data-financing gaps for wider adoption.

In conclusion, GCMD said it believed the pilots are essential to accelerating the energy transition in the maritime industry and the recent Global Maritime Decarbonisation survey, conducted with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), reaffirmed this need.

Note: The full report of GCMD’s inaugural Impact Report can be viewed here.

Related: GCMD, BCG survey highlights three maritime decarbonisation archetypes
Related: GCMD and partners complete bunkering of third biofuel supply chain trial, involving tracer dosing
Related: Completed safety study paves way for first ammonia bunkering pilot in Singapore
Related: GCMD-led consortium completes trials of sustainable biofuel bunker supply chains

Photo credit: Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation
Published: 20 October, 2023