EMSA has published the third, fourth, and fifth parts of its study series on the safety of ammonia as a fuel in shipping. The overall aim of the study – which started in 2023 - is to assess the safety of the use of ammonia in the maritime industry, with the first part of the study series focusing on an analysis of ammonia’s unique hazards, including toxicity, corrosiveness, and solubility in water.

The second part of the study included the identification of critical equipment and failure modes and a qualitative evaluation of the reliability of ammonia systems, as well as the construction of several reliability models based on information from the application of LPG modified to consider ammonia fuel applications.

The newly published third part of the study describes the hazard and operability analysis of a generic ammonia fuel supply system, from the fuel tank to the internal combustion engine, complemented by consequence modelling of potential ammonia leaks through CFD simulation.

The fourth and fifth parts describe the results of similar HAZID exercises on the use of ammonia as fuel in specific ship designs – a Newcastlemax dry bulk carrier and a mega ro-ro respectively – including the risk assessment of scenarios involving simultaneous operations in ports.

The series has been developed concurrently with the now-approved IMO Guidelines on the Safe Use of Ammonia as Marine Fuel (MSC.1/Circ.1687). The reports underscore the necessity of a more profound mutual understanding about the system’s boundaries and requirements for the safe integration of systems across diverse technology providers. This groundbreaking work offers a valuable reference for stakeholders engaged in addressing this crucial challenge.

Access the whole report series.