Yara touts fertiliser as bulk carrier fuel

A common agricultural fertiliser could fuel the iron ore megaships calling into Western Australia’s bulk export ports in the state’s north-west.

Norway-headquartered Pilbara ammonia producer Yara on Monday revealed results of a feasibility study looking into demand and supply of ammonia as a replacement shipping fuel to drive decarbonisation.

That study suggested ammonia bunkering was economically and operationally viable at the Pilbara’s two major iron ore ports – Port Hedland and Dampier – and that demand for the product could reach 1.5 million tonnes by 2035.

Yara Pilbara’s proximity to Dampier Port where Rio Tinto exports much of its iron ore made it a near-term prospect should shipping companies opt to pick up the idea.

Ammonia produced at Yara’s Murujuga facilities is commonly used in explosives and agricultural applications in WA.

Yara clean ammonia commercial senior vice president Murali Srinivasan said the demand reflected iron ore miners’ desire to decarbonise.

“The study has shown that a key enabler for meeting this demand is Yara’s existing assets including the world-scale Yara Pilbara fertilizers ammonia plant near Karratha,” he said.

“Furthermore, the current development of Yuri renewable hydrogen project on the Yara Pilbara site will be the first in Australia to inject green molecules into an existing ammonia plant, and Yara is vigorously exploring options to ramp up volumes of clean and low carbon ammonia to lay the foundation for a reliable supply chain to serve the emerging shipping fuel market.”

Pilbara Ports chief executive Samuel McSkimming said the region’s export scale made it a prime location to begin decarbonising the global bulk carrier fleet.

“Ammonia is already widely produced, used, and shipped in industrial quantities around the world,” he said.

“To be able to expand its application as a green shipping fuel would greatly reduce shipping emissions.

“Pilbara Ports is progressing on several strategically significant projects, including major port infrastructure upgrades at Dampier and Port Hedland, to support the production of clean fuels in the Pilbara.”

Pilbara Ports and Yara indicated they would work to bring the idea to fruition.

Fortescue has been pressing the case for ammonia-fueled bulk carriers for several years and had hoped to have the first such ship running by the end of 2022 but is now eyeing a 2027 launch date.

Ammonia is not the only option put forward to decarbonise bulk carriers visiting WA, which can reach up to 360 metres in length.

BHP last year welcomed the world’s first LNG-powered Newcastlemax bulk carrier to Port Hedland where, in January this year, Pilbara Clean Fuels struck a deal to build an LNG bunkering facility.

Siem has been running an LNG-fueled supply vessel out of Dampier since 2017.

In April 2022 the big Australian joined with Rio Tinto and several other stakeholders to progress work on an Australia-East Asia iron ore green corridor.

That project hopes to see ammonia-fueled bulk carriers servicing the corridor as early as 2028.

Down south, Australia’s first biofuel-powered grain ship left the port of Albany for the first time in early 2022 under a CBH Group-commissioned trial.