The metal cutting ceremony for the construction of the first container ship to run on renewable ammonia took place at the Qingdao Yangfan Shipbuilding shipyard in Qingdao. The 1,400 TEU vessel will be ice-classified and equipped with a 250 kWh battery pack, as well as a shore power supply system.
The project is being implemented with the participation of Yara Clean Ammonia, Yara International, North Sea Container Line (NCL) and the Belgian company CMB.TECH. The new vessel will be owned by Delphis (a division of CMB.TECH), and will be operated by NCL Oslofjord AS, a joint venture between NCL and Yara Clean Ammonia.
The container ship is scheduled to be commissioned in mid-2026. Yara Eyde will operate on the Oslo-Porsgrunn-Bremerhaven-Rotterdam short-haul route. In addition, NCL Oslofjord AS has signed a long-term contract with Yara International for the transport of containers between the fertiliser plant in Porsgrunn and the ports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven, positioning itself as the world’s first liner operator to exclusively use ammonia-fuelled vessels.