United Arab Emirates: Multi-Million Dollar Contracts with China and Italy

As part of its impressive energy transition and renewable energy development program, the United Arab Emirates is building a fleet to carry ammonia, the ideal chemical for hydrogen production. AW Shipping, a new strategic joint venture between UAE-based ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S) and Chinese chemical industrial company Wanhua Chemicals, has awarded a contract worth 918 million UAE dirham (US$250 million) to China’s Jiangnan Shipyard for the construction of two other Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLAC) megatankers. Initial contracts for the construction of two VLAC vessels, with an option to build two more, were signed by the companies in China in July 2024.

ADNOC Logistics & Services said in a press release that “the shipbuilding contracts were signed in Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of Chinese Jiangnan Shipyard’s first office in the Middle East.” As AW Shipping President and ADNOC L&S CEO Abdulkareem al Masabi said during the ceremony in Abu Dhabi, “these contracts demonstrate the commitment by AW Shipping and ADNOC L&S to meeting the future demand for lower carbon energy sources such as ammonia, the use of which is becoming increasingly vital to drive the energy transition.”

For his part, Lin Ou, president of Jiangnan Shipyard, told the Emirates News Agency WAM that “the signing of these two new contracts further deepens the cooperation and friendship between ADNOC L&S and Jiangnan Shipyard, which represents a concrete embodiment of the joint practice to decarbonize the industrial process by all parties and gives new impetus to the future energy transition.”

Green ammonia can be used as an energy storage medium with several advantages: it can be easily stored in liquid form at moderate pressure or cooled at -33°C, unlike liquid hydrogen, which must be stored at cryogenic conditions of -253°C. It consumes much less energy but, despite its toxicity, is much less flammable than hydrogen. Ammonia, stored in large refrigerated tanks on VLAC ships, can be transported around the world. This makes it an ideal chemical repository for renewable energy.

VLAC tankers will be able to carry 93,000 cubic meters of ammonia each, making them one of the largest ammonia carriers in the world. The ships, scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2028, will be equipped with high-energy dual-fuel engines capable of running on liquefied petroleum gas or conventional fuels.

The United Arab Emirates authorities and personally President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (pictured) are working 360 degrees to promote the Arab state’s international cooperation. Italy’s Leonardo Group has signed a contract with the United Arab Emirates to enhance the technological capabilities of the country’s secure defense communications network. According to a press release, the cooperation plan “aims to improve the integrity of the United Arab Emirates’ national security communications and information systems through enhanced capabilities to protect strategic applications.”

“The measures taken,” the press release reads, “will consolidate network and IT security infrastructure, increasing resilience to cyber and physical threats while ensuring the availability, authenticity, integrity, and confidentiality of data and services.” In this context, Leonardo will lead the design and modernization of the network using state-of-the-art technologies, creating an integrated and interoperable system capable of guaranteeing continuity of operations, as well as continuous improvement measures. One of the main areas of the project will be the development of advanced encryption methods that guarantee the highest standards of security in communications and information management.

And to emphasize the importance of political, business, and human contacts between Italy and the United Arab Emirates, special “E-Gates” have been opened at Milan Malpensa Airport for citizens of this Arab country. The State Police on duty at Malpensa Airport announced that starting Thursday, October 10, “arrival and departure from both terminals will become easier and more rational for citizens of the United Arab Emirates who will be able to use the gates equipped with automatic entry and exit systems from Italian territory, thus joining other countries with citizens holding European electronic passports (EU, EEA, Switzerland), including the Vatican, the United States of America, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Israel, the Principality of Monaco, Taiwan, Singapore, San Marino, and Andorra, who already use electronic gates to cross borders.”

Emirati Ambassador to Italy Abdullah Ali Al Subousi (pictured) arrived at Varese Airport from Rome to personally test the new system. The head of the Emirates diplomatic mission highly appreciated the initiative of the Italian authorities and said that the innovation will help the two friendly countries to further develop mutually beneficial cooperation.