Singapore-based commodity trading company Trafigura Group Pte Ltd (Trafigura) has successfully completed its first ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of ammonia which took place last week in international waters close to the Spanish port of Ceuta in the Strait of Gibraltar.
The company reveals that approximately 6,000 metric tonnes of ammonia (NH3), supplied by U.S. ammonia producer CF Industries from their Donaldsonville, Louisiana-based manufacturing complex, was safely transferred between the Medium Gas Carrier (MGC) “Green Power” owned by ship owner/operator Purus on time charter to Trafigura, and the Small Gas Carrier “Gas Aegean”.
The ammonia shipment will be received by Fertiberia for the production of fertilizer in Spain, as Trafigura reports.
The STS operation was conducted by International Fender Provider (IFP) in line with current regulations.
Such STS transfers are commonly used for other commodities to load cargo onto more suitable vessels for delivery to the destination, however until recently have not been widely adopted by the ammonia industry.
In May 2024, Trafigura signed a contract for four MGCs that will be capable of using low-carbon ammonia as a propulsion fuel when delivered, and the vessels will be built at HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan, South Korea, with the first ship to be delivered in 2027.
