Meriaura, a Finnish family owned shipping company which currently operates a fleet of 16 vessels, is cooperating with Wärtsilä and the green energy project development company Green NortH2 Energy, to build a cargo vessel that runs on green ammonia
The vessel, equipped with modular multifuel main engines from Wärtsilä, will be ordered and operated by Meriaura, and Green NortH2 Energy is responsible for supplying green ammonia fuel, which is produced with renewable electricity. The delivery of the vessel is targeted for 2024 and it is planned to start operating on green ammonia in 2026.
As Meriaura mentions, the green ammonia has a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions of shipping because the energy needs of this industry cannot be met with battery technology, adding that compared to hydrogen, it can be stored and moved more easily, and its logistical network already exists.
The vessel is designed to trade in heavy project cargo segment together with the existing open deck carriers of Meriaura. Besides ammonia, it can be powered by bio-oil or marine diesel oil.
“This is a natural step in the future fleet portfolio of Meriaura, complementing the fuel mix together with our in-house biofuel (LBO) production”, says Jussi Mälkiä, the chairman of Meriaura, adding that this collaboration supports their ongoing newbuilding program and carbon neutrality goals. The project is a continuation of the ship development cooperation between Green NortH2 Energy’s parent company Elomatic and Meriaura, which was started to renew lake Saimaa’s traffic. However, Russia’s attack on Ukraine moved the project from lake Saimaa to the sea.
Meriaura Oy claims that it is the first shipping company using biofuels at sea and that he waste-based biofuel is produced in the company’s own biofuel plant in Uusikaupunki.
Source: Meriaura
