Fortescue Completes Australia’s First Green Ammonia Bunkering
Fortescue has completed Australia’s first green ammonia bunkering operation at Port Hedland, marking a significant milestone in the country’s transition towards low-carbon shipping and sustainable maritime fuel. The operation involved a Capesize bulk carrier and represents the first use of green ammonia in Fortescue’s export operations.
The vessel, Mineral Europa, is a 200,000-dwt bulk carrier chartered by Fortescue and operated by Belgian shipowner CMB.Tech. It operates on the major iron ore trade route between Port Hedland and China, a strategically important shipping corridor serving a destination that accounts for approximately two-thirds of global iron ore trade.
Green Ammonia Offers Potential to Cut Maritime Emissions
According to Fortescue, the green ammonia used during the bunkering operation produces no carbon emissions when used as a marine fuel. Pilbara Ports estimates that adopting ammonia bunkering across the Australia-centred iron ore shipping fleet could reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 4.5 million tonnes.
The development highlights the potential of alternative marine fuels to reduce the shipping industry’s carbon footprint, particularly across energy-intensive bulk cargo operations. However, achieving wider adoption will depend on fuel production capacity, bunkering infrastructure and the availability of commercially viable ammonia supplies.
Norwegian ammonia producer Yara operates a large conventional natural gas-to-ammonia production facility in the Pilbara region. Its existing industrial presence could provide an opportunity to introduce carbon-capture-based ammonia production in the future.
Another company, WAH2 Clean Ammonia, is planning to establish a nearby blue ammonia production facility. Blue ammonia is produced from natural gas using carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. WAH2 has secured a natural gas feedstock agreement with Chevron and established a bunkering partnership with bunker-vessel operator Oceania Marine Energy.
Green Shipping: Transforming Australia’s Iron Ore Export Industry
Fortescue’s ammonia bunkering initiative signals a broader ambition to integrate clean marine fuels, renewable hydrogen and low-carbon iron production into Australia’s iron ore export supply chain.
Beyond replacing conventional marine fuels, Fortescue aims to develop a value-added, low-carbon iron trade by increasing the level of processing before iron ore is shipped. Its longer-term concept involves using hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources to smelt iron ore into sponge iron.
This approach could connect renewable energy production, cleaner industrial processes and sustainable maritime transportation, potentially creating a lower-carbon export model for the iron ore industry.
Read:Exmar Unveils World’s First Ammonia-Powered Gas Carriers, Pioneering Green Shipping
