Viridis Bulk Carriers moves towards ordering ammonia-powered ships

Viridis Bulk Carriers, a Norway-based joint venture seeking to create a fleet of zero-emission ships for the European short sea bulk market, on Monday said it has approval in principle from Bureau Veritas for its ammonia-powered vessel.

This is a key step towards ordering the first series of vessels, the company added. It is looking to make orders for ships this year and to start taking deliveries in 2025.

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The ships have been designed in cooperation with client partners and main suppliers as part of the “Flexbulk NH3 Ammonia Power” consortium project. Kongsberg Maritime is the vessel designer.

“We develop the fuel gas supply system (FGSS) and our Ship Design team is responsible for all aspects of the next generation bulk carrier design covering general arrangement, specification, hydrodynamics, stability, safety, machinery and electrical aspects,” Einar Vegsund, director ship design solutions at Kongsberg Maritime, explained and praised Viridis Bulk Carriers for not taking a wait-and-see approach to decarbonisation.

Viridis Bulk Carriers said that fuel infrastructure for ammonia-powered ships is also being developed. The firm is part of the “Ammonia Fuel Bunkering Network,” which will build a bunkering network in Scandinavia in partnership with Norwegian chemical company Yara, with the first bunkering terminal to be delivered in 2024 and another 15 pre-ordered by Yara.