Belgian shipper Exmar prepares to deploy world's first ammonia-fuelled gas carriers

Belgian gas shipping group Exmar is on the cusp of taking delivery of the world's first ocean-going ammonia dual-fuel vessels, a milestone that places European operators at the vanguard of maritime decarbonisation just as the EU's emissions trading regime reaches full force.

The 46,000 cubic metre mid-size gas carriers Antwerpen and Arlon, named after the Belgian cities and built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries at its Ulsan yard in South Korea, are scheduled for handover in late May and late July. They are the first two of four ammonia-propelled units ordered by Exmar's French subsidiary in 2023 and 2024.

The technology is significant: the 190 metre vessels can burn ammonia drawn from their own cargo tanks, cutting carbon dioxide emissions during navigation by up to 90 per cent compared with conventional bunker fuels. Three cargo tanks per ship are designed to carry liquefied ammonia or LPG interchangeably.

The deliveries land at a pivotal moment. Shipping was pulled fully into the EU Emissions Trading System on 1 January, requiring vessels above 5,000 gross tonnes calling at European ports to surrender allowances covering all voyage emissions. Compliance costs for a single tonne of very low sulphur fuel oil consumed on intra-EU voyages are forecast to exceed $319 this year, more than triple the 2024 level.

That economic squeeze is reshaping order books. Classification society DNV counts 46 ammonia-fuelled vessels on order worldwide, with 18 due for delivery in 2026. The International Energy Agency projects ammonia will supply 8 per cent of global marine fuel demand by 2030, rising to 46 per cent by mid-century.

For Exmar, chaired by Nicolas Saverys, the project caps a three-and-a-half-year development programme conducted with Lloyd's Register, Wärtsilä and WinGD. The remaining two vessels are due in 2027.