Ocean Network Express Pte. Ltd (ONE) has been awarded "Approval in Principle (AiP)" for an Ammonia Dual-fueled vessel.

The ocean carrier said along with the investment in 12 methanol dual-fueled vessels; this marks another milestone for ONE on its journey towards net zero by 2050.

In a statement, ONE said the newly AiP-awarded 3,500 TEU vessel was jointly developed by ONE, Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd. (NSY) and classification society DNV as part of a joint development project established in late 2022 among the three parties.

"ONE has been studying the feasibility of ammonia as an alternative fuel for zero emission according to the roadmap for alternative fuels, which was developed by ONE in 2022," it said in the statement.

It added that in conjunction with the roadmap, ONE participated in a GCMD-led ammonia bunkering pilot safety study.

"Ammonia is definitely one of the primary focuses of our research as ammonia fuel has a great potential of generating lower GHG emissions than conventional marine fuels. We are pleased to have made such progress, and we will continue our study on ammonia," said Koshiro Wake, senior vice president of the corporate strategy & sustainability department at ONE.

Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, regional manager of South East Asia, Pacific & India, Maritime at DNV, noted that ammonia is one of the "promising future marine fuels with great potential to decarbonize shipping."

"We are confident that DNV's rules for ammonia will help our customers to safely adopt this new fuel type once the infrastructure is in place. We are grateful to our JDP partners for entrusting us with this pioneering project that will help the entire maritime industry to adopt ammonia as a marine fuel," she said.

ONE Green Strategy has set an ambitious target to achieve Net-Zero GHG emissions, encompassing Scope 2 and 3 by 2050.

To achieve the target, transition from conventional fuel to alternative fuels is defined as ONE's key pillar of Green initiatives. ONE will continue to study alternative fuels as it strives to become net-zero by 2050.