OCI and VICTROL to develop clean ammonia bunkering supply chain in the Netherlands and Belgium

OCI Global, an owner and operator of a large-scale ammonia import terminal in the Port of Rotterdam, and VICTROL, a bunkering service company, have teamed up to develop a refrigerated clean ammonia bunkering supply chain in the Netherlands and Belgium.

The partnership was formalized with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which the companies aim to jointly develop a safe, scalable, and commercially viable supply chain for clean ammonia bunkering in the Netherlands and Belgium.

The terms of the collaboration will see OCI’s subsidiary, OCI Ammonia Distribution, lead the sourcing and import of clean ammonia – both blue and green – from key global production hubs in the U.S., Middle East, North Africa, and Asia.

Ammonia will be transported by sea-going vessels to the OCI Terminal Europoort (OTE) import terminal in the Port of Rotterdam, where it will be stored, distributed, and made available for use as marine fuel. OCI is concurrently building partnerships with a growing network of shipowners and end-users who will adopt ammonia as a clean fuel for their fleets.

VICTROL will be tasked with designing, building, and operating a liquid ammonia bunker barge, which will load refrigerated ammonia at OCI’s terminal and deliver it directly to ships in the ports, as well as to inland industrial off-takers.

OCI’s OTE is the only independent large-scale ammonia import terminal in the Port of Rotterdam. With permits in place to expand the terminal’s storage capacity from 30,000 metric tons to 90,000 metric tons and throughput up to 2 million tons per year in line with increasing market demand, OCI strives to position Rotterdam as Europe’s leading hub for the distribution and storage of clean ammonia.

Both companies are working with the Port of Rotterdam and the relevant authorities to ensure timely safety and regulatory frameworks.

The partnership builds on the port’s first-ever ammonia ship-to-ship bunkering pilot in April 2025, a significant milestone that raised Rotterdam’s readiness for ammonia fuel to level 7 under the International Port Readiness framework.

Matthijs van Doorn, Vice President Commercial at Port of Rotterdam Authority, commented: “The port of Rotterdam is preparing for a multi-fuel future to decarbonize global shipping, with ammonia as one of the future fuels.

“It is great to see this strategic partnership develop after the successful ammonia bunkering pilot in April 2025, where both OCI and Victrol also played an important role. Such collaborations are instrumental to create safe and sustainable supply chains and are key for Rotterdam to advance its preparedness for ammonia bunkering.”