RINA and SDARI team up on methanol/ammonia tanker design

Italian classification society, RINA, and the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) have entered into a joint development project agreement to design a tanker capable of operating either on methanol or ammonia.

SDARI will concentrate on ship concept development and design while RINA will validate compliance with relevant rules, including those covering the use of different fuels. MAN Energy Solutions will support the partners by providing expertise in dual-fuel innovation.

Although the project will initially focus on a tanker design, there are likely to be opportunities to use the two fuels in applications for other ship types.

RINA’s executive vice president, Marine, Giosuè Vezzuto, commented: “A ship specifically designed and optimised for using ammonia and methanol as fuels offers a future-proof, environmentally sustainable solution. This is an important milestone within the RINA set of initiatives on innovation and energy transition towards the compliance with IMO 2030 and IMO 2050. We are pleased to join forces with SDARI and believe this project will benefit the whole shipping industry, releasing the potential of both ammonia and methanol.”