The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has launched the final pair of reports in its study series investigating the safety of hydrogen & ammonia as shipping fuels.
Both study series’ have been developed with the aim of assisting national administrations, industry and maritime stakeholders in the sustainable transition of shipping as a whole.
The study series on hydrogen looks at an analysis of the main characteristics of hydrogen to determine which safety hazards, system threats and risks should be considered and mitigated when using it as a shipping fuel. It also includes the results of a reliability and safety analysis of equipment and safety-critical systems used in hydrogen-fuelled ships, as well as a comprehensive hazard identification for generic hydrogen fuel systems and the findings of a risk analysis of two generic hydrogen fuel system designs.
Additionally, the series includes results of a full risk analysis conducted on two specific ship types using hydrogen as a fuel; a platform support vessel with compressed hydrogen stored above deck and a service operation vessel with liquefied hydrogen stored below deck
The final report offers a number of conclusions and recommendations of a wider, multi-part study, which has been developed to support national administrations, industry, and maritime stakeholders in the sustainable transition.
Meanwhile, the study series on ammonia includes an analysis of the gas’s properties and characteristics, as well as insight on how these properties are applicable as a marine fuel and the identification of critical equipment, failure modes and a quantitative evaluation of the reliability of ammonia systems.
The study also incorporates the results of a hazard and operability study of a generic ammonia fuel supply system from the fuel tank to the internal combustion engine, as well as hazard identification exercises on the use of ammonia as fuel in a Newcastlemax dry bulk carrier and a mega ro-ro, including risk assessment of scenarios in which there are simultaneous operations in ports.
A final report consolidates all findings and recommendations from the study into one single asset, which can in turn be used for future regulatory developments.
