Yara Orders Specialized Ships to Transport Liquid Ammonia

Yara International ASA, one of the world’s largest specialty chemical and fertilizer companies, placed an order today with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Mipo Dockyard for the construction and delivery of three, 20,600 cubic meter, semi-refrigerated Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) carriers.  These three ships are targeted to transport cargoes of liquefied ammonia and come at an expected cost of USD $51 million per vessel.
Yara notes that two of the vessels will have ice-class capability and all will feature either emissions scrubbers or dual fuel engines in order to meet 2015 IMO emissions requirements.
Yara’s dedicated fleet of  18 LPG carriers transport 4 to 5 million tons of ammonia on an annual basis and these new ships will replace existing vessels, covering part of its long-term transport requirement at attractive rates. Discussions with potential partners for combined ship management and equity participation are in progress, however Yara says they aim to retain majority ownership in the vessels.