Lerøy Havfisk AS is a part of Lerøy Seafood Group, and is one of Norway’s largest trawler companies with 10 vessels with fishing rights in operation. The company has its main office in Ålesund, and offices in Stamsund and Hammerfest. The background and the motivation for this pilot study is Lerøy Seafood Groups strategical ambitions to reduce their CO2 footprint with 46% within 2030. It is also assumed that emission reduction regulations and requirements from other stakeholders will become more important and stricter in the years to come.
A traditional trawler design does not easily lend itself to integration of systems for storage and distribution of alternative fuels. The operational logistics will to a large degree dictate how the vessel’s equipment and functions are arranged. The trawler deck seizes the available area on the open deck, while the factory and cooling- and freezing rooms occupy a lot of space below deck. The handling and production of excess raw materials also require space below. It will therefore be difficult to avoid a significant increase in main dimensions for an ammonia powered trawler of the type operated by Lerøy Havfisk.
Large ocean-going trawlers have relatively high fuel consumption and emissions, with challenging operational conditions and extended sailing distances. Trips of up to 5 weeks require large amounts of fuel.
Lerøy Havfisk is the overseeing partner for this project. Additional partners are listed to the right. Other contributors are: Skipsteknikk.
Goal of pilot project
Lerøy Havfisk aims to carry out a feasibility study related to implementing dual-fuel ammonia solutions for a larger sea-going trawler, including technical solutions, risk aspects and cost efficiency. The study intends to map the barriers for implementation onboard and any limiting effect on operations.
The questions this pilot aim to answer are:
- To what extent can the operational pattern of the current trawler fleet be supported with ammonia as fuel?
- Can the experience large trawlers have with ammonia as cooling medium in refrigeration plants be of importance for safe implementation of ammonia as fuel?
- What environmental benefits can be achieved, and to what cost?
In total the pilot shall give answer to if it is technical possible to implement an ammonia fueled system for a newbuild with similar performance as the current modern trawlers in the Lerøy Havfisk fleet. The long-term goal is to prepare the largest trawlers for use of ammonia as fuel.
Status
The pilot’s kick‑off meeting was held on 27 January 2022. 14 partners participated in the project. Six work packages were defined. It was established early on that integrating the system onboard without significantly altering the vessel’s design would be one of the key challenges – given the limited available space and the fact that this type of vessel already utilizes its space very efficiently.
Nevertheless, the pilot succeeded in identifying solutions for establishing the necessary storage arrangement for ammonia based on the operational profile of similar vessels, and identified a suitable tank‑storage concept.
Two of the pilot’s main questions were:
- Whether ammonia has the potential to meet the operational characteristics required of a fishing vessel?
- How to avoid operational emissions when using ammonia?
A deep‑sea trawler has very limited space onboard. The vessel functions simultaneously as a fishing vessel, a factory, a storage facility, and a transporter – and every part of the ship is in use. Even so, the pilot study concluded that solutions exist for establishing the necessary ammonia storage arrangement. Lerøy’s strategic ambition to reduce its CO₂ emissions by 46% by 2030 remains firm.
The pilot was completed in May 2023. Read the report from the pilot here (in Norwegian).