World's First Ammonia-Fueled Vessel Completed by IHI; Achieves Zero Carbon Emissions

In Q3 2024, the ammonia-fueled tugboat Sakigake was completed by NYK Line (NYK) and IHI Corporation consolidated subsidiary 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.* The NYK Group company Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha will employ the vessel in tugboat operations in Tokyo Bay over a three-month demonstration period.

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 280mm bore four-stroke ammonia-fueled engines made by IHI Power Systems.

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, IHI Power Systems, Japan Engine Corporation, Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd., and ClassNK are conducting research and development on ammonia-fueled medium gas carrier (AFMGC). This vessel is scheduled for delivery in November 2026. IHI Power Systems will be made to develop a 250 mm bore four-stroke engine for the auxiliary engine of this vessel.

* The “world’s first” claim is as of August 23, 2024, according to research by NYK.