Wärtsilä’s ammonia engine will be installed on a new ship for the first time

Finnish technology company Wärtsilä delivers an ammonia engine of Norwegian origin Cormorant Shipping Solutionsin to a new cargo ship.

It is the first time that a Wärtsilä 25 ammonia engine is installed on a new ship. In addition to the engine, a fuel gas supply system and an exhaust aftertreatment system are also delivered.

According to Wärtsilä, their ammonia engine reduces greenhouse emissions by 90 percent compared to similar diesel engines.

However, ammonia is more expensive than traditional fuels. The ship is designed to travel slowly and energy-efficiently, so that the operation remains profitable despite the high price.

Safety is one of the biggest concerns with ammonia-powered ships, as ammonia is toxic and corrosive. On the other hand, ammonia does not contain carbon, so burning it produces no carbon dioxide emissions at all, but only water and nitrogen.

According to Skarv Shipping’s press release, the ship will be equipped with highly developed safety systems, which will be complemented by operational safety procedures and crew training.

The four-stroke ammonia engine is connected to an electric propulsion system that uses batteries.

Not all alternative fuels ignite due to compression in the engine, but require, for example, a small amount of diesel to ignite. In the engine system installed on the Norwegian ship, a small amount of marine gas oil (MGO) is used as ignition fuel.

The fuel is stored in 160 cubic meters tanks. That’s enough for a 14-day trip from Norway to mainland Europe and back.

The Norwegian vessel has a carrying capacity of 7,800 tons, a length of 108 meters and will be built at the Chinese Huanghao shipyard.

Installation of Wärtsilä’s ammonia solution will begin in the last quarter of 2026. If everything goes according to plan, the ship will be completed by the summer of 2027.

At the beginning of this year, the same engine solution will also be changed to the Norwegian Viking Energy ship, which was built in 2003. The ship originally ran on LNG, but with the installation of batteries in 2016, it became hybrid powered. Now the lng systems are being changed to Wärtsilä’s ammonia solution.