Yara Clean Ammonia puts pen to paper for long-term charter of dual-fuel gas carrier pair

September 1, 2025, by Sara Kosmajac

Yara Clean Ammonia (YCA), an arm of Norway-based fertilizer company Yara International, has inked a long-term shipping contract with compatriot Navigator Amon Shipping, securing access to two 51,000 cbm dual-fuel gas carriers.

As disclosed, YCA and Navigator Amon Shipping, a joint venture (JV) between the UK’s Navigator Holdings (Navigator Gas) and Norway’s ammonia specialist and maritime transport player Amon Maritime, have signed a charter agreement that will cover a pair of medium gas carriers (MGCs) featuring both ice-class notations and dual-fuel engine technology.

The vessels are anticipated to pave the way for YCA to provide year-round access to Northern Europe while allowing for the application of renewable and low-emission fuels. What is more, as per Yara Clean Ammonia, the MGC duo is projected to cut down on freight costs (per tonne), bolster margins and ‘boost’ operational flexibility.

In turn, officials from YCA have highlighted that the new fleet had the potential to “future-proof” the company’s shipping capability and improve its competitiveness in the emerging low-emission ammonia market.

“Building scalable, reliable supply chains is critical to unlocking the hydrogen economy. This contract is a logistical and cost-efficient way to move large volumes of ammonia to Europe, reducing operational bottlenecks and delivering economies of scale,” Hans Olav Raen, CEO of Yara Clean Ammonia, shared.

Reflecting further on the recent development, Oeyvind Lindeman, Chief Commercial Officer of Navigator Gas, commented: “Navigator is actively expanding its work with Yara Clean Ammonia with the addition of two high-spec ammonia carriers, at a time when global demand for low carbon commodities is accelerating.”

“Together, we are building the core infrastructure needed to facilitate the uptake of clean energy using technology that will enable compliance with present and future environmental regulations,” he added.

Headquartered in Norway’s capital city of Oslo, Yara Clean Ammonia at present operates what is said to be “the largest” global ammonia network consisting of 15 ships. Through its parent company, YCA has access to 18 ammonia terminals and multiple ammonia production and consumption sites around the world, as well.

In February this year, YCA shook hands with Japan’s shipping titan Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), concluding ‘the world’s first-ever’ time-charter contract for a 40,000 cbm ammonia-powered gas carrier, which is planned to be handed over in November 2026.

As informed, the agreement follows Yara and NYK’s joint study on the practical application of an ammonia-fueled ammonia gas carrier that was initiated in 2021.

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On the other hand, Navigator Gas is the owner and operator of “the world’s biggest” fleet of handysize liquefied gas carriers, comprising 58 semi- or fully-refrigerated vessels, 27 of which are ethylene– and ethane-capable.

Recently, namely in July 2025, Navigator Gas entered a strategic collaboration with Babcock International Group’s LGE business to advance liquefied gas transport, with a focus on ammonia.

As previously reported, the partners would seek to create technologies that would cut the time needed to switch a vessel’s cargo system from carrying one type of cargo to another, which could, as a result, enable faster turnarounds and ‘greater’ operational flexibility.

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