Tokyo-headquartered general trading company Itochu has announced that the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore has authorised one of Itochu’s subsidiaries to carry out ammonia bunkering trials in Singapore.
The Authorisation was granted following MPA’s review of ZETA’s submissions, which included comprehensive safety studies, risk assessments, and business plans for ammonia bunkering in Singapore. The ammonia bunkering trials to be conducted under Authorisation will serve to verify the technical readiness, operational protocols, infrastructure, and technologies, to assess and inform the development of safe and environmentally sustainable ammonia bunkering practices in Singapore.
The Authorisation was issued on April 27, 2026, and will become effective on May 15, 2026, for a trial period up to two years subject to MPA’s prevailing regulatory framework. It is envisaged that the Authorisation will accelerate Itochu’s initiatives to decarbonise international shipping. Specifically, ITOCHU plans to conduct demonstration trials in collaboration with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, supplying ammonia fuel from an ammonia bunker vessel to dual-fuel capesize bulkers, jointly owned by CMB.TECH of Belgium and MOL, and chartered by MOL, within the port of Singapore during the last quarter of 2027.
“These trials will enable Itochu to establish safe and sustainable ship-to-ship bunkering operations using ammonia as marine fuel, with the aim of commercialising the ammonia bunkering business in Singapore and at major maritime hubs worldwide,” the company said in a statement.
Back in June 2025, as part of Itochu’s integrated project for developing and owning ammonia-fuelled vessels, along with the establishment of a global supply chain for ammonia as marine fuel, Itochu placed an order for the world’s first newbuilding ammonia bunker vessel, through Clean Ammonia Bunkering Shipping, a wholly owned subsidiary of Itochu. The vessel is being constructed by Sasaki Shipbuilding, and it will be flagged under the Singapore Registry of Shipping. Delivery is anticipated for September 2027.
Itochu Corp, which dates back to an 1858 founding, is a general trading company. Today it is engaged in Japanese trading, import/export, and overseas trading of various products such as textiles, machinery, metals, minerals, energy, chemicals, food, general products, realty, information and communications technology, and finance, alongside business investment in Japan and overseas.
