To main content

Accident scenarios for safety risk management of ammonia fuelled ships

Abstract

Ammonia is deemed to be a promising fuel to reduce carbon emissions from shipping as well as a viable alternative solution as a global hydrogen carrier. Several initiatives are ongoing to demonstrate the use of ammonia in fuel cells and internal combustion engines for use on offshore vessels. While the interest in ammonia increases, so do the concerns regarding its safety. Ammonia is toxic to humans and to marine life, and, at certain concentrations, when mixed with air, could explode if ignited. Although safely transported as a chemical and fertilizer for decades, ammonia has been stored in dedicated carriers. Transfer and handling operations have been performed in this time by highly trained and specialized crews and operators. The potential large-scale implementation of ammonia in the maritime environment and its handling by different users introduce emerging risks and a potential for stricter requirements. This work presents a bibliographic approach for the definition of accidental scenarios for safety risk management of ammonia fuelled offshore vessels and ammonia carriers. A screening of historical accidental events potentially resulting in ammonia released is performed and a statistical analysis of the causes and consequences of the relevant events is provided to support a tailored and effective risk management.

Category

Academic chapter/article/Conference paper

Client

  • Research Council of Norway (RCN) / 344210

Language

English

Author(s)

  • Marta Bucelli
  • Francesco Zanobetti
  • Alice Schiaroli
  • Valerio Cozzani

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Energy Research / Gassteknologi
  • University of Bologna
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Year

2025

Publisher

Research Publishing Services

Book

Stavanger ESREL SRA-E 2025 Proceedings : 35th European Safety and Reliability Conference and the 33rd Society for Risk Analysis Europe Conference, 15-19 June 2025, Norway

ISBN

978-981-94-3281-3

Page(s)

2305 - 2311

View this publication at Cristin