First featured on MAX Magazine (Maritime Industry Australia Limited)
Pilbara Ports Authority CEO Samuel McSkimming shares how a successful ammonia transfer pilot was achieved.

We understand that the project took place over five days, and many elements had to be coordinated on the day, but can you provide a sense of the scale of preparations leading up to the ammonia transfer pilot?
The preparation for the ammonia transfer trial took around a year, with a crossorganisational working group charged with developing the detailed plans and procedures necessary for the trial to proceed. Key preparations included:
- Hazard Identification (HAZID), Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP) & Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA);
- Environment Impact Assessment;
- Developing an Emergency Preparedness Analysis and Response Plan (ERP);
- Compatibility assessments, including mooring assessment;
- Metocean analysis and modelling; and Developing procedures for the ship to ship trial.
How important was, and can you provide some specifics on, the role played by GCMD on this project?
Pilbara Ports, Yara Clean Ammonia, and the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) have signed a Collaboration Agreement to investigate opportunities to conduct trial ship-to-ship (STS) ammonia transfers.
GCMD was responsible for coordinating the trial, including facilitating communication between all relevant stakeholders. The GCMD was also responsible for chartering the vessels used for the trial.
Especially given your background in bulk infrastructure, what is your view on the safety considerations for fuels like ammonia?
Safety is uncompromisingly central to every choice we make at Pilbara Ports. Industry is considering a range of new marine fuels to decarbonise shipping, including ammonia, methanol, LNG, and hydrogen.
Alternative marine fuels come with a different hazard profile than traditional bunker fuel, and so will require different safety controls and procedures.
The safety challenges posed by new marine fuel types are not insurmountable. It is through carefully planned collaborations, such as the fuel transfer trial, that hazards are identified and appropriate controls implemented.
Ammonia is safely produced and transported all around the world. Pilbara Ports has extensive experience in handling ammonia safely at the Port of Dampier.
How important is the community and First Nations engagement piece in making an effective transition?
Pilbara Ports is committed to working with Traditional Owners to achieve our common goal of preservation, prosperity and strengthening of the Pilbara region. The projects that will support a clean energy transition will occur on the land and waters in the Pilbara region, therefore engagement and support from the Traditional Owners and local community is imperative to an efficient and orderly transition.
The port appears to be uniquely positioned to transition to a fuel, such as ammonia – is the future strategy “all in” on ammonia, or are you still considering other fuel alternatives?
The shipping industry is transitioning to a multi-fuel environment, where multiple different energy sources will be used across different maritime applications. This will persist for at least the next few decades, after which it is possible, but not certain, that the industry will settle on a single fuel type. It is our role to support decarbonisation by ensuring that the port is ready for this multi-fuel world by, for example, having appropriate bunkering procedures in place. It is not our role to be “picking the winning fuel”.
When you think of decarbonisation do you view it as a headache or as an opportunity, or both?
Decarbonisation is the greatest opportunity for the Pilbara economy since the mining boom. The Pilbara is one of the most prospective regions in the world for renewable energy, green fuels, and critical minerals. The “green steel corridor” between the Pilbara and China is also a natural beachhead for innovation and investment in maritime decarbonisation. Because of its stable demand, economics, young fleet, and dedicated point-to-point routes, it is a comparatively favourable part of the global shipping industry for investment in new, green technologies.
What are the critical elements that must align to enable decarbonisation (for example: the policy frameworks needed to support the transition)?
No one can tackle decarbonisation alone, and we must work together to find solutions. The global shipping industry is an ecosystem, in which making change depends on multiple organisations coming together to collaborate.
The regulatory framework that supports the use of traditional bunker fuels didn’t spring up overnight – it developed over many decades. The same will be true of the regulatory framework to support decarbonisation – it will take time, cooperation, and collaboration across both industry and government. This is why trials like the one in Dampier are so important. Each such trial, conducted by like-minded partners across the world – across both the public and private sector – moves us incrementally closer to meeting our shared goals for carbon reduction.

As work advances on critical infrastructure, such as the Lumsden Point General Cargo Facility, how will clean fuel technologies be embedded in these projects, or is it still a case of wait and see?
The Lumsden Point development will be critical in facilitating the import of renewable energy infrastructure, including wind turbines and blades required for the renewable projects being developed in the Pilbara such as the Australian Renewable Energy Hub. The development is also part of the Pilbara Hydrogen Hub initiative, which supports the transition to renewable energy and decarbonisation of the resource sector.
We’ve seen the great work the port is doing to evaluate where emissions are coming from (Rightship modelling) and developing Strategic Customer Decarbonisation Plans (Horizon Power) looking at electric opportunities for vehicles and plants at Dampier and Port Hedland – how is this informing strategies to reduce emissions by 80% in the next five years; and how confident are you that the 2030 and 2050 commitments will be met?
Pilbara Ports’ own emissions (Scope 1 & 2) are modest and predominately relate to the Utah Bulk Handling Facility in Port Hedland. Our 2030 goals can be achieved through working with Horizon Power to transition those operations to renewable energy.
The opportunity for our organisation to punch above its weight comes from our role in facilitating a Scope 3 emissions reduction, by working with our customers to make sure that their own ambitious decarbonisation plans are facilitated and support by the port.
