Analysis of Bunkering Procedures for Establishing Safety Regulations for Ammonia-fueled Ships

Ji, Sangmin; Cheon, Yujin; Jung, Dongho; Lee, Jinkwang

doi:.0..

J. Ocean Eng. Technol. > Articles in press

Original Research Article

Published online May 13, 2025.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26748/KSOE.2025.009 [Articles in press]

Analysis of Bunkering Procedures for Establishing Safety Regulations for Ammonia-fueled Ships

Sangmin Ji¹

, Yujin Cheon²

, Dongho Jung³

, Jinkwang Lee⁴

¹Graduate Student, Department of Mechanical Convergence Engineering, Gyeongsang National University, Changwon, Korea
²Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Mechanical Convergence Engineering, Gyeongsang National University, Changwon, Korea
³Principal Researcher, Eco-friendly Ocean Development Research Division, Korea Research Institute of Ship and Ocean Engineering, Daejeon, Korea
⁴Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Convergence Engineering, Gyeongsang National University, Changwon, Korea

Corresponding author: Jinkwang Lee, Tel: +82-55-250-7308, jklee1@gnu.ac.kr

Received February 12, 2025 Revised March 16, 2025 Accepted April 7, 2025

Keywords: Ammonia fuel, Ammonia bunkering, Ammonia-fueled ship, Safety procedure analysis

Abstract

As environmental concerns increase globally, the International Maritime Organization has been strengthening regulations to limit pollution from ships, attracting increasing interest in ammonia as a zero-carbon marine fuel. This study aimed to establish safe bunkering procedures for ammonia-fueled ships through thermodynamic analysis. The research analyzed two bunkering scenarios, ship-to-ship and truck-to-ship, calculating the boil-off rate and return boil-off gas for each scenario. A thermal analysis showed that the ship-to-ship scenario generated 271.9 kg/h of return boil-off gas with a total heat ingress of 92.84 kW. The truck-to-ship scenario produced 243.95 kg/h of return boil-off gas with a total heat ingress of 84.4 kW. Based on these findings, comprehensive bunkering procedures were developed for both scenarios, consisting of 14 steps for ship-to-ship and 13 for truck-to-ship, addressing the unique challenges of ammonia handling. These procedures include evaporated gas recovery systems, ammonia catch systems, and nitrogen purging to minimize leakage and explosion risks. The results of this study contribute to the development of safety regulations for ammonia-fueled ships by establishing systematic operational procedures that consider the toxicity and corrosiveness of ammonia.