Unlocking the safe use of ammonia as marine fuel

As the shipping industry accelerates toward net-zero, ammonia is emerging as a leading zero-carbon marine fuel. With more ammonia-fueled vessels entering the pipeline, ensuring safe operations at sea is now mission-critical.

Low-emission ammonia: A key to zero-emission shipping

Low-emission ammonia refers to ammonia (NH₃) produced with significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions, making it suitable for use in decarbonization efforts, particularly in industries like shipping.

Unlike conventional fuels, ammonia’s chemical profile requires specific handling and robust safety protocols. "Ammonia deserves respect, not fear — safety starts with understanding," says Laurent Ruhlmann, HESQ VP at Yara Clean Ammonia.

DNV’s new Recommended Practice (RP) — developed with input from Yara and others — offers a clear framework for safe ammonia fuel handling, addressing crew training, emergency procedures, and risk management.

Addressing the competence gap

Despite its growing adoption, ammonia-specific crew training has lagged. With over 30 ammonia-fueled vessels on order, there's an urgent need to develop targeted training programs — not just adaptations of LNG protocols.

“Maritime can draw on decades of safe ammonia handling from land-based operations,” Ruhlmann notes. “Transferring that know-how is key to decarbonizing safely.”

Real-world expertise behind the guidelines

Yara Clean Ammonia was a key contributor to the Recommended Practice, bringing deep operational insights from producing ammonia for over a century and managing 15 vessels and 18 global terminals. The company's pioneering project, Yara Eyde, will be the world’s first ammonia-powered container vessel — a real-world demonstration of ammonia in action.

Scaling with safety

Global demand for ammonia fuel could double or triple by 2050. Safe scaling requires structured protocols, ammonia-specific risk assessments, and trained crews.

Safety must be built into vessel design, operations, and training from the start. Applying best practices from the chemical industry is vital.

DNV’s RP serves as a roadmap for training institutions, shipowners, and regulators to build standardized ammonia competence. Flag States can streamline approval processes by referencing the RP, avoiding case-by-case approaches.

Culture of prevention

The transition to ammonia requires a shift towards a risk-based approach, Ksenia Zakariyya, HESQ Manager at Yara Clean Ammonia says: “To ensure safe ship design and operations, dedicated risk assessments are essential for enhanced decision-making and definition of technical, operational, and organizational barriers to effectively control risks throughout the asset's lifecycle”.

With structured training and strong safety culture, ammonia can be handled safely at sea. “Operators must implement tailored protocols, drills, and scenario-based training,” Zakariyya emphasizes. “Ammonia readiness must be built into daily operations.”

Ammonia’s role in the future of shipping

"Respect for ammonia as fuel begins with proactive safety," says Ruhlmann. “By embedding best practices across the value chain, ammonia can become a cornerstone of maritime decarbonization — safely and at scale.”

Explore related insights from DNV here

About Yara Clean Ammonia

Yara grows knowledge to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet. Yara Clean Ammonia is uniquely positioned to enable the hydrogen economy in a market expected to grow substantially over the next decades. We aim at significantly strengthening our leading global position as the world’s largest ammonia distributor, unlocking the green and blue value chains, and driving the development of clean ammonia globally.

Building on Yara’s leading experience within global ammonia production, logistics and trade, Yara Clean Ammonia works towards capturing growth opportunities in low-emission fuel for shipping, power generation, low-carbon food production and ammonia for industrial applications.

Yara Clean Ammonia operates the largest global ammonia network with 15 ships and has, through Yara, access to 18 ammonia terminals and multiple ammonia production and consumption sites across the world. Revenues and EBITDA for the FY 2024 were USD 1,8 billion and USD 117 million respectively. Yara Clean Ammonia is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.