Navigator Gas and Amon Maritime form JV to build two new ammonia-fueled carriers

Liquified gas carrier operator Navigator Gas has entered into a joint venture (JV) with Amon Maritime to construct two new 51,530-cubic-metre ammonia-fueled liquefied ammonia carriers.

Navigator will acquire an 80 per cent stake in the Norwegian joint venture company, Navigator Amon Shipping, with Amon Maritime holding the remaining 20 per cent. The JV has entered into contracts with Chinese shipyard Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore and Engineering to build the vessels at an average price of $84 million each. Deliveries are scheduled for June and October 2028.

Each vessel project has been awarded a NOK90 million ($9 million) investment grant from the Norwegian government agency Enova. The JV expects that it will finance the majority of the vessels' purchase price through commercial bank financing, with the remainder sourced from capital contributions from both JV partners.

Upon delivery, each vessel will begin a five-year time charter with an unnamed industry player.

Mads Peter Zacho, CEO of Navigator, stated that these vessels will be equipped with, "newly developed technologies that comply with present and future environmental regulations."