Tokyo-headquartered ITOCHU Corporation recently sealed a shipbuilding contract through its wholly owned Singapore-based specific purpose company Clean Ammonia Bunkering Shipping (CABS) for the construction of an ammonia bunkering vessel with Sasaki Shipbuilding and an agreement regarding the construction of an ammonia tank plant that will be loaded onto the vessel with Izumi Steel Works.

The company placed an order for a 5,000 m3 ammonia bunkering vessel with Sasaki Shipbuilding and an ammonia tank plant, which will be loaded onto the vessel with Izumi Steel Works. It will own the vessel which is to be flagged under the Singapore registry and plans to conduct a demonstration of ammonia bunkering in Singapore.

CABS has concluded a financing agreement with The Hiroshima Bank, Ltd. for financing a part of purchase price of the vessel, ITOCHU said in a statement.

As explained, the agreements aim to pursue the demonstration project for bunkering ammonia as marine fuel in Singapore, adopted by the ministry of economy, trade and industry in Japan as part of the global South future-oriented co-creation project (large-scale demonstration in ASEAN member states).

Following the delivery of the ammonia bunkering newbuild vessel, which is expected to be delivered in September 2027, efforts will be made to facilitate concrete discussions with the maritime stakeholders, including the port authority in Singapore, the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), and the fuel producers, while obtaining support from the Japanese government.

ITOCHU intends to establish an offshore ammonia bunkering operation via ship-to-ship transfer following the development and construction of the vessel.

By utilizing the vessel, ITOCHU plans to set up a connection between the first movers in clean ammonia production and the first movers in the ammonia-fueled vessels, and secure initial demand for ammonia as marine fuel.

The aim is the commercialization of the ammonia bunkering business in Singapore and the expansion of a similar business model to major maritime transportation points around the world, including Spain (Strait of Gibraltar), Egypt (Suez Canal) and Japan.

The demonstration of ammonia bunkering in Singapore is scheduled after October 2027.