Ammonia-fueled Car Carrier Design Gets DNV Nod

Classification society DNV said it awarded an approval in principle (AIP) certificate to Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI) for its ammonia-fueled 7,000 CEU car carrier design.

Ammonia is emerging as a promising alternative fuel option for shipping to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

SDARI's new ammonia-fueled pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) design is said to be the first from China. It design contains other clean features such as Shore Power, Battery/Hybrid, and NOx Tier III, to minimize emissions. Furthermore, the design includes enhanced fire safety measures as outlined in DNV’s F(C) notation, such as heat detectors, video monitoring, and CO2 fire extinction systems.

Drawing on global resources, DNV Approval Centers in Shanghai and Norway assured that the design complies with the latest DNV Gas Fueled Ammonia notation, DNV said.

DNV’s Head of Technical Centre China (TCC), Øyvind Pettersen, presented the AIP certificate to Zhang Zhuo, Deputy Director of Project Development Department in SDARI, in a ceremony held at DNV’s Greater China headquarters in Shanghai.

“We are very pleased to present this AiP certificate to SDARI - our first ammonia-fueled joint development project in Region Greater China,” Pettersen said. “DNV and SDARI have worked together on many successful PCTC newbuilding projects in China. We share a common vision of technology, innovation, and the environment, and this new design represents a further step forward towards realizing carbon-neutral PCTC vessels.”

SDARI’s Chief Engineer Wang Gangyi said, “In the context of the global decarbonization trend, marine transportation of vehicles, as a key part in the whole supply chain of new energy vehicles, must also follow the principle of carbon reduction and decarbonization. SDARI and DNV further seek to strengthen our cooperation in the future and aim to jointly launch more new energy transportation solutions in other ship types.”

The research and development (R&D) of this ammonia-fueled 7,000 CEU PCTC design is based on SDARI’s current LNG-fueled 7,000 CEU PCTC. Twenty-nine newbuilding orders from seven owners were placed in 2021, leading to an 80% global market share.

“With the industry under pressure to bend the carbon curve towards zero, environmental friendliness is one of the key focus areas for car carrier owners. Currently, car carrier newbuilding orders are 100% LNG dual-fueled, in which SDARI takes a majority share. With this new ammonia-fueled 7,000 CEU PCTC design, SDARI is further cementing its leading role in the industry. As DNV, we are very proud to be part of this progressive journey and will continue to support the industry with our technology and expertise in ammonia as ship fuel,” said DNV Regional Manager, Norbert Kray.