Hydrogen and ammonia fuel for cargo ships gets port investment in 2026 but few ships are ordered to burn it

Hydrogen and ammonia fuel for cargo ships gets port investment in 2026 but few ships are ordered to burn it

Ports in the Netherlands and Germany are building real, dated capacity to handle hydrogen and ammonia as fuel for cargo ships in 2026. North Sea Port already handles 600,000 tonnes of hydrogen a year, which it calls the largest hydrogen cluster in the Benelux countries. The port has set a target, not yet built capacity, of 4 million tonnes a year of hydrogen carrier imports by 2030, rising to 7 million tonnes by 2035. 12 hydrogen and electrolysis projects, plants that split water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity, are already underway there.

The Port of Rotterdam already handles 400,000 metric tons of ammonia and 2 million metric tons of methanol a year, though most of both is still made from fossil sources, not clean electricity. Trammo completed an 800 cubic meter ammonia ship to ship transfer at the OCI terminal in April 2025, and OCI signed an ammonia bunkering agreement with Victrol in October 2025. Berte Simons, Chief Operating Officer of the Port of Rotterdam, said hydrogen bunkering is next.

We are also preparing for bunkering of liquid hydrogen for short-sea shipping.

Berte Simons, chief operating officer of the Port of Rotterdam. Source 1.

The ship order book has not caught up with the port investment

DNV, the classification society that inspects and certifies ships, counted only 4 ammonia fuelled and 1 hydrogen fuelled vessel ordered worldwide through June 2026, out of 137 alternative fuelled vessels ordered in that period. 2 more hydrogen powered bulk carriers were ordered in August 2026, a month with 52 alternative fuelled vessel orders worldwide, the highest monthly count since October 2024. Adding the June count of ammonia and hydrogen vessels to the August hydrogen bulk carriers gives 7 ships ordered worldwide in 2026 to run on hydrogen or ammonia, a MAOWCE calculation from DNV own Alternative Fuels Insight platform, adding 2 separately reported counts. That gap is the story, 7 ships ordered against North Sea Port own 4 million tonne 2030 import target alone. Liquefied natural gas, still the most common alternative fuel, took 46 of the 52 August orders and 63% of the whole 2026 order book so far.

Hamburg adds a type approval and a proposed ammonia terminal in September 2026

Hamburg gained 2 concrete steps in September 2026. DNV granted Yanmar Power Solutions type approval, confirmation that equipment meets safety rules before a shipbuilder can install it, for a hydrogen fuel cell system, a device that turns hydrogen into electricity without burning it, announced at the SMM trade fair in Hamburg on 7 September 2026. Masaru Hirose, President of Yanmar Power Solutions, called it a milestone.

Achieving DNV Type Approval represents a major milestone in our journey to bring hydrogen-powered solutions to the marine market.

Masaru Hirose, president of Yanmar Power Solutions. Source 3.

Fertiglobe, Covestro and MB Energy signed a memorandum of understanding, a signed agreement to explore a deal, not a commitment, on 11 September 2026 to explore an ammonia import terminal at Blumensand in Hamburg. Fertiglobe produces 6.6 million tons of ammonia and urea combined a year and has access to 6 ports. The terminal has no confirmed capacity figure, construction start date or committed investment figure yet. Ahmed El Hoshy, Chief Executive Officer of Fertiglobe, called the agreement a step forward.

This MoU marks an important step in strengthening Fertiglobe's connectivity with industrial customers in Europe and expanding routes to market for our global ammonia platform.

Ahmed El Hoshy, chief executive officer of Fertiglobe. Source 4.