Fortescue, Cosco eye iron ore on ammonia-fuelled ships

Australian iron ore producer Fortescue and China-based firm Cosco Shipping will explore building green ammonia-powered ships to transport iron ore from Australia to China.

The two companies signed an initial agreement to collaborate on decarbonising shipping, Fortescue said today. The collaboration will include building and deploying Cosco vessels, or co-owning vessels, which would be fuelled by green ammonia. The vessels will ship iron ore and other mineral products through the Australia-China iron ore green shipping corridor, with aims to lower the corridor's carbon emissions.

"This collaboration marks a significant step in decarbonising the shipping industry and establishing a green fuel supply chain," said Fortescue Metals chief executive officer Dino Otranto.

This comes after the Fortescue Green Pioneer in March received the world's first certification to use ammonia with marine gasoil (MGO) as a marine fuel. The trial was conducted in the port of Singapore.

By Mahua Chakravarty