Handling hydrogen safely

The Maritime Technologies Forum (MTF) is a group of IMO flag states and classification societies which aims to bridge the gap between technological progress and regulatory process.

MTF has carried out a study on the current technological progress, and potential regulatory gaps, relating to liquid hydrogen (LH2) with an emphasis on the bunkering of the fuel.

While IMO is currently working on the development of guidelines for the safe design of ships with hydrogen as fuel, with the target completion already at CCC10 in September 2024, MTF notes the guidelines will stop at the bunkering manifold on the ship.

The details related to the bunkering operations are not part of the scope for that work. The MTF study is intended to supplement CCC10 with input on the bunkering side of LH2 fuel safety.

The new report discusses the potential use of hydrogen as a zero-emission fuel to meet the IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships by 2050. It acknowledges the lack of experience in the maritime sector with hydrogen as cargo and fuel, and the increased risks associated with its use as a fuel compared to LNG. As of the writing of the report, there are no international standards covering the bunkering of liquefied hydrogen. However, information collected from ongoing developments in ISO for related areas, as well as the experience gained from the Norwegian ferry “Hydra”, serves as the basis for the guidelines and recommendations of this report.

The objective of this project is to review barriers and enablers to safe bunkering operations of liquid hydrogen (LH2) with focus on the ship-to-shore interface and to produce a framework for LH2 bunkering guidelines. Experience with bunkering of hydrogen for ships is limited and the design, operation and regulatory approval processes are complex. The project has conducted a review of existing standards and experience that can be applied to LH2 marine bunkering and proposed structure and main topics of importance for bunkering guidelines which can help to accelerate the development and standardisation of LH2 bunkering procedures for ships.