The new Wärtsilä Ammonia Release Mitigation Systems (WARMS) has been granted Approval in Principle (AiP) by classification society DNV, enabling it to be used on vessels fueled by ammonia with the DNV Class notation Gas Fueled Ammonia, or on gas tankers fueled by ammonia with the DNV Class notation GF NH3.
Wärtsilä has designed the system to reduce risks related to fuels including ammonia which can be harmful to crew health or the surrounding environment if not handled or stored correctly.
Benefitting from a compact footprint, WARMS enables the accurate and continuous monitoring of emissions. The solution features staged and controlled combustion and uses only a small amount of energy consumption while producing little waste.
WARMS’s typical emissions are nitrogen and water, with ammonia emissions less than 30ppm and, more often than not, ammonia emissions are closer to 0ppm.
“Ammonia can be an important part of the future maritime fuel mix, but we need to ensure that with every step forward, safety is at the top of our list of considerations,” commented Dalibor Bukarica, head of section, piping systems and alternative fuels, DNV.
“That is why DNV is so pleased to be able to award this AiP to Wärtsilä for their innovative new Ammonia Release Mitigation Systems. With the Gas Fueled Ammonia notation, we set out to offer a practical path for realizing ammonia as a zero-carbon fuel option. And we are delighted that Wärtsilä is working with us to demonstrate to their customers that this solution is being developed in line with the most technically advanced rule set in the maritime industry.”
“We can assume that regulations will become even more stringent as ‘best available technologies’ are developed to enable the global acceptance of future fuels,” said Ole Fjeld, product line manager, Inert Gas Systems Offshore, Wärtsilä Gas Solutions. “WARMS is designed to comply with both existing and anticipated legislation, and is an important element within Wärtsilä’s decarbonization journey.”