The Potential of Ammonia as a Marine Fuel : seafarers perspective on ammonia's potential and future

Abstract

Since being eco-friendly and decarbonization is such a big topic around the world in recent years, the shipping industry is facing constant pressure to decarbonize. Some might argue that ammonia could be the answer. This thesis will investigate the current impact ammonia has on shipping as of early 2025, what the current goal is for ammonia, its pros and cons, safety risks, infrastructure, and compare it to few other alternative fuels to find out why ammonia is widely considered to be adopted in the future if the target is zero emissions. A qualitative research method was then used by interviewing 10 marine professionals chosen based on their experience to gain valuable insights on their knowledge, opinions, and willingness to work with ammonia to identify whether the literature aligns with seafarers’ personal views, and finding themes amongst their answers. The key finding was that most participants had limited awareness of ammonia’s properties and especially its safety risks. However, once informed, nearly all participants emphasized the need for strict safety measures. This highlights the critical role of education and risk awareness in building trust and acceptance of new technologies in order to maximize their potential. Since ammonia is still just a concept and a theory that is still being developed, I am unable to statistically prove anything, but rather exploring insights into their knowledge, and identifying awareness levels of, for example, the safety regarding ammonia for professional seafarers that might not know of them yet.