NYK completes world’s first commercial-use ammonia-fueled vessel
The NYK Group company Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha will employ the vessel in tugboat operations in Tokyo Bay over a three-month demonstration period.
On August 23, the ammonia-fueled tugboat Sakigake was completed by NYK and IHI Power Systems Co., Ltd. (IHI Power Systems) in cooperation with Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK). This is the world's first ammonia-fueled vessel for commercial use.
This vessel was a Green Innovation Fund Project initiated in October 2021 under Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) to develop vessels equipped with domestically produced ammonia-fueled engines.
The predecessor, the LNG-fueled tugboat of the same name, was completed in August 2015 as the first LNG-fueled vessel in Japan. After eight years of tug service in Tokyo Bay, the vessel was docked at the NYK Group's Keihin Dock Co. Ltd. for conversion to an ammonia-fueled vessel.
The main engine, etc., were replaced with ammonia-fueled ones, and sea trials were conducted using ammonia as fuel. The completed vessel has taken the name Sakigake, hoping it will be a pioneer of ammonia-fueled vessels, just as it was of LNG-fueled vessels.
As part of the development of vessels equipped with domestically produced ammonia-fueled engines through NEDO’s Green Innovation Fund Project, NYK is conducting research and development on an ammonia-fueled medium gas carrier (AFMGC) with Japan Engine Corporation, Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd., IHI Power Systems, and ClassNK. This vessel is scheduled for delivery in November 2026.
