California-based cooperative Calamco, along with four partners – American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Fleet Management Ltd., Sumitomo Corp., and TOTE Services LLC – on March 29 announced the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly conduct a feasibility study to establish a comprehensive and competitive supply chain for the provision of clean ammonia ship-to-ship bunkering on the US West Coast.
The study will be conducted at the ports of Oakland and Benicia, and at other major ports on the US West Coast. The study aims to explore the possibility to utilize Calamco’s existing ammonia storage terminal at Stockton for a pilot demonstration project of ammonia bunkering for car carriers calling at Port of Benicia and container vessels calling at Port of Oakland.
The partners described the study as a first step toward wide adoption of ammonia as marine fuel on the US West Coast. Benicia is one of the key vehicle-handing ports on the US West Coast, while Oakland also ranks among the top 10 of the largest US ports.
Calamco, which is the largest ammonia distributor in the state, will conduct a feasibility study of ammonia loading operations from its Stockton ammonia terminal to an ammonia bunkering articulated tug-barge (AB-ATB), leveraging its experience at the terminal.
“We are excited to support the exploration of ammonia bunkering in the US West Coast,” said Calamco President Dan Stone. “As one of the few ammonia storage and handling facilities in the geographical area, Calamco is well positioned to serve the growing needs of the maritime industry. Calamco has many years of safe and efficient operational experience at the Port of Stockton.”
“We embark on our ambition to build the first ship-to-ship ammonia bunkering base in the US West Coast in addition to Singapore, Oman, and the US East Coast, which highlight our commitment to offer our customers the best available and technologically proven solution to reduce the emission footprint from maritime transport,” said Koji Endo, General Manager of Sumitomo’s Energy Division. The company will structure, integrate, and promote the end-to-end clean ammonia supply chain, which includes sourcing, transportation, storage, and bunkering.
ABS will conduct risk assessment of ammonia ship-to-ship bunkering and lead in coordination with US authorities to establish port regulations and operational guidelines. TOTE will develop the AB-ATB and safe and reliable ammonia bunkering procedures from the AB-ATB point of view, leveraging their experience operating LNG bunkering in the US.
Fleet will work on the development of safe and reliable ammonia bunker procedures from a ship manager point of view, and provide technical support in the design development of the alternative fuel vehicle and AB-ATB.
Sumitomo, ABS, Fleet, and TOTE are participating in a similar study on the US East Coast, which includes the participation of Georgia Ports Authority, AP Moller-Maersk, Savage Services, and Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping. This study will be conducted at the Port of Savannah.