Ship operator Seaspan Corp and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) have granted an Approval in Principle (AiP) by class society ABS for a 15,000 TEU container ship design developed in collaboration with naval architects Foreship.
Despite emerging as one of the frontrunners among alternative marine fuels there are currently no ships capable of operating on ammonia, which poses specific challenges in its storage and handling. Further to development of the concept design for the vessel, Seaspan and MMMCZCS’s project included defining the safety objective, ammonia’s impact as a fuel on vessel performance, and the completion of a HAZID qualitative risk assessment.
Among the documents submitted to ABS were a fuel range and endurance analysis, ammonia tank and system location assessments, general arrangement, main machinery and electrical system design, and initial vessel stability calculations.
The project comprises part of Phase 2 of the Singapore Ammonia Bunkering Feasibility Study (SABRE), an MMMCZCS-led initiative launched in 2021 with the aim of developing and demonstrating an ammonia supply chain in Singapore. Another facet to the project, an ammonia bunkering vessel design, was also granted an AiP by ABS last year.
Further ongoing research will investigate how to mature the commercial feasibility so that contractual terms across the supply chain are prepared and can be executed to establish an ammonia bunkering operation in Singapore.
