PaxOcean Engineering has signed a MoU with Singapore-based bunker vessel operator Hong Lam Marine and classification society Bureau Veritas (BV) to jointly develop an ammonia bunker vessel design.

With the signing of this MoU, PaxOcean will focus on developing designs for ammonia-fueled and ammonia bunkering vessels, leveraging its deep technological capabilities and expertise.

Bureau Veritas will verify compliance with the most applicable and up-to-date rules, particularly those related to the handling of ammonia, drawing on BV’s expertise in ammonia carriage and operations, and previous technical studies on ammonia as a fuel.

Hong Lam Marine’s role is to provide input specific to operational data, and to support and validate the suitability of the ship design for commercial operations. The MoU will foster innovation in smart and autonomous ship technologies and support the use of green ammonia as a sustainable fuel to help decarbonize global shipping.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) welcomes the formation of strong partnership among industry partners to develop, trial and test-bed new designs and innovative technologies needed to accelerate the transition to a clean economy.

Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of MPA said, “I congratulate the collaboration between Bureau Veritas, Paxocean Engineering and Hong Lam Marine to study the design of bunkering vessels with alternate future fuels such as ammonia. As a major bunkering hub, this forward-looking collaboration aligns with our maritime decarbonization efforts to be ready for a multi-fuel bunkering transition to support the future of international shipping.”

Tan Thai Yong, Chief Executive Officer of PaxOcean said, “It brings me great pleasure to share that we are adding a new fuel segment into our R&D focus by co-creating ammonia-based vessel solutions with forward looking and responsible companies like Hong Lam Marine and Bureau Veritas. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with Hong Lam Marine and Bureau Veritas, founded upon our complementary strengths in a push to accelerate the development of ammonia bunkering in Singapore.”

Caroline Yang, Chief Executive of Hong Lam Marine Pte Ltd said, “We are pleased to be participating in the project in partnership with highly respected establishments and experts in the era of decarbonization and sustainability in the Singapore marine fuel industry and beyond. Together, we look forward to contributing to the development and design of the ammonia bunker vessel as we focus on our long-term social and environmental responsibilities.”

David Barrow, Vice President, South Asia Zone of Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore said, “Ammonia has great potential as a zero-carbon marine fuel and can play a significant role to help shipping reach its decarbonization goals, but to fulfil this potential, more work is needed to overcome the safety and operational challenges. These challenges can be overcome through cross-industry collaboration, and we are very pleased to be working with PaxOcean and Hong Lam Marine to develop an ammonia bunker vessel design that de-risks ammonia as a marine fuel.”