Maritime Technologies Forum publishes guidelines for liquefied hydrogen bunkering

The Maritime Technologies Forum (MTF), a forum of flag states and classification societies, recently released a new report offering guidelines and key safety considerations for developing liquefied hydrogen bunkering systems and procedures.

The report underlines the potential use of hydrogen as a zero-emission fuel to meet the IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships by 2050.

The report, which can be viewed in full here, also acknowledges the challenges associated with bunkering hydrogen as marine fuel and as a maritime cargo, identifying design and functional implications and limitations.

Based on the findings of the publication, the MTF has outlined the following key observations:

• The properties of hydrogen, and in particular the very low temperature of liquefied hydrogen, mean that experience gained from bunkering arrangements for LNG cannot be re-used directly.

• The bunkering process will be more complex than it is for LNG, since no nitrogen can be present inside the piping systems when liquefied hydrogen is introduced, as this will freeze and clog the systems.

• The material choices and need for more insulated components and piping will also be slightly different.

• The development of vessel-specific procedures for bunkering operations, such as more automated bunkering procedures, will be necessary.

• The added complexities will mean that the need for crew training and certification is of even higher importance than for other bunkering processes.

• The Safety Management Systems should be updated to cater for the additional safety aspects with liquefied hydrogen bunkering, as outlined in another work carried out by MTF, "Guidelines to develop and implement Safety Management System for alternative fuels onboard ships".