The Global Maritime Forum (GMF) has announced a landmark achievement on an important commodity trade route, when ‘Mineral Europa’ left Port Hedland in Western Australia following a successful ship-to-ship green ammonia bunker trial and loading of iron ore.
Mineral Europa, owned by CMB.Tech and chartered by Fortescue, completed the world’s first commercial ship-to-ship green ammonia bunkering operation off the port of Zhoushan, China, before setting course towards Port Hedland. The ammonia-powered voyage to China, laden with a commercial shipment of iron ore, was made possible by the significant investments of Pilbara Ports Authority, Fortescue, and CMB.Tech. Port Hedland is one of several ports operated by Pilbara Ports. If the transport of iron ore from the Pilbara were powered solely by low-carbon ammonia, those emissions would be cut by around 94%, from 9.9m tonnes CO2e per year to less than 0.6m tonnes.
The achievement is seen as a pivotal step in decarbonising the Australia-East Asia iron ore trade route, made even more impressive by occurring significantly earlier than the 2028 deployment target set out in the green corridor 2023 feasibility study.
To move beyond this demonstration and scale up zero- or near-zero-emission-fuelled shipping, GMF says the industry needs policies that help to address the remaining cost gap between these fuels and their conventional counterparts. While leading companies are starting to invest in e-fuels, such as clean ammonia in this case, broader adoption requires mechanisms that de-risk investments and help e-fuels reach commercial scale.
Jesse Fahnestock, GMF director of decarbonisation, said: “To avoid losing momentum, policy support is critical for industry members. This could be measures that can help spur clean fuel demand, reduce the fuel cost gap, and help ensure the build-up and availability of necessary fuel and port infrastructure.”
Examples include contracts for difference, double-auction mechanisms, and capital grants for port and bunkering infrastructure. GMF has convened the Australia-East Asia iron ore green corridor initiative since 2022. Pilbara Ports Authority and Fortescue are among the 14 members involved in the initiative.
Image: ‘Mineral Europa’ (credit: CMB.Tech)
