Following the major liner giants’ push for their new shipbuilding projects, Australian mining giant Fortescue has also recently made shipbuilding news.
Fortescue plans to order five Newcastlemax bulk carriers and five very large liquid ammonia carriers (VLACs) at a cost of $900 million, according to Trade Winds.
According to the source, Fortescue has named the shipbuilding program “Project Consul” and has been in discussion with several shipowners and shipyards. The price of each VLAC is said to be more than $120 million, with a total order value of more than $600 million. On this basis, the total value of the five Newcastlemax bulk carriers would be approximately US$300 million.
In terms of ammonia-fueled bulk carriers, Chinese shipyards seem to have a more competitive advantage. At present, China State Shipbuilding Group’s (CSSC) Beihai Shipbuilding has undertaken over a number of Amonia-ready Newcastlemaxes from shipowners such as Belgian tanker giant Euronav, Singapore’s Berge Bulk and Singapore’s East Pacific Line. The world’s first truly ammonia-fueled bulk carrier ordered by Singapore’s East Pacific Shipping (EPS) was also undertaken by Beihai Shipbuilding.
In the VLAC newbuilding market, although South Korean shipyards receive orders at a rate superior to China. However, in 2023, Jiangnan Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of CSSC, formally entered this high-value-added ship market by signing an order with EPS for four 93,000 m³ VLACs, which was also the first VLAC order in China. In the same year, EPS ordered two additional VLACs from Jiangnan Shipbuilding, increasing its order book to six units.
Last month, it was also announced that ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S), the shipping and maritime logistics subsidiary of UAE energy giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), had ordered 2+2 93,000 m³ LPG dual-fuel-powered VLACs from Jiangnan Shipbuilding, through AW Shipping, a joint venture between the two companies.
The new VLACs, equipped with B-type liquid cargo tanks, will cost about $120 million for each, with a total order value of $480 million if the option order is confirmed to be in force, and the first two are expected to be delivered in 2026, and can be used for transporting ammonia or LPG.
Founded in 2003, Fortescue has grown into a global player and is now committed to diversifying its business through its renewable energy projects and mining technology research and development to become an integrated global green energy and metals company.
The company has set industry-leading targets to achieve Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions by 2030 and Scope 3 net zero emissions by 2040, addressing global supply chain emissions including fleet decarbonization. Fortescue currently has a fleet of tugboats and eight 260,000 dwt ore carriers.
This order is not the first time Fortescue has tried ammonia-fueled vessels, with the company announcing plans as early as 2021 to convert eight 260,000 dwt ore carriers to run on ammonia fuel. The vessels were delivered by Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group and CSSC’s Guangzhou Shipbuilding International (GSI) in 2017 and 2018, and Fortescue revealed last year that the conversion work was scheduled to begin in 2027.
In 2023, Fortescue’s Fortescue Green Pioneer started its ammonia conversion project, which included the installation of a gas fuel supply system and safety systems. Two of the four engines will be converted to run on both ammonia and diesel fuel, while the other two engines will continue to run on conventional fuel when required.
Fortescue Green Pioneer, a dual-fuel ammonia-powered vessel that has been retrofitted, completed the world’s first ammonia (diesel blend) refueling in Singapore in March 2024 and received flag approval from the Singapore Registry of Ships (SRS) and the gas fuelled ammonia notation by Det Norske Veritas (DNV). In May, the Green Pioneer also received the Hydrogen Transport award at the World Hydrogen 2024 Awards.
