H2-fueled passenger ship hazards: challenges in risk assessment for a front edge technology application

Abstract: Achieving the ambition set out in the initial International Maritime Organization (IMO) greenhouse gas strategy will require zero-emission vessels to enter the fleet in 2030, forming a significant proportion of vessel new builds from 2025. Besides the cargo market, the passenger ferry industry is fastly moving to explore alternative fuels and low-emission technologies, promoting a large number of projects and pilot cases for inland and coastal navigation, mainly. However, compared to fossil fuels, around which the shipping industry has had decades to optimize the design, maintenance, and operation of ferries, the introduction of zero-carbon technologies, such as hydrogen fuel cells, brings new safety risks that need to be analysed and managed. This paper presents an initial result of the EU-founded e-SHyIPS project, investigating the methodologies for an early-stage risk assessment of hydrogen-fuelled passenger ships, where a compartment with a pressurized hydrogen supply system and passenger compartments are in proximity. The study objective is to present and discuss both the methodology adopted in international risk assessment workshops and the results obtained. The research activity involves identifying hydrogen-related hazards and selecting critical areas for more detailed explosion and fire risk studies. As a result, considerations are given on hazards and risks affecting the structural strength or the integrity of the ship, safety of crew on board, and preservation of the environment that will be used as input for consequence calculations and frequency assessments for release, dispersion, fire, and explosion experiments.

Keywords: Risk assessment, Early, stage design, Hydrogen passenger ferry, zero emission navigation, Hydrogen Safety

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1003073

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