Decarbonisation Technology May 2026 Issue

Ammonia safety management Understanding ammonia’s behaviour through advanced simulation is key to enhancing safety and building the confidence to support broader adoption

Gu Hai American Bureau of Shipping (ABS)

T he maritime industry is seeking to From LNG and methanol to ammonia and hydrogen, each offers unique advantages in the quest for decarbonisation. Among these, ammonia stands out as one of the leading candidates for achieving net-zero emissions due to its carbon-free combustion and potential scalability. However, its adoption hinges on addressing critical safety challenges, including toxicity, flammability, and corrosive properties. ABS is developing comprehensive safety frameworks to support the safe integration of ammonia into maritime operations while enabling compliance with evolving regulations. accelerate its transition to alternative fuels to meet global decarbonisation targets. Challenges associated with ammonia as fuel Ammonia’s toxicity represents probably the most significant barrier to its widespread adoption, with health risks even at low concentrations. The transition to ammonia fuel will require comprehensive retraining of maritime personnel, as existing seafarer competencies do not address ammonia’s unique hazards. While ammonia-handling expertise exists in specialised industries such as refrigeration and fertiliser production, scaling this knowledge across global shipping presents significant challenges. The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) frameworks for alternative fuels are designed around experience with liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel. It will require extensive revision to encompass ammonia-specific risks. Critical areas requiring attention include ammonia’s acute toxicity, material compatibility, and the need for tailored emergency response procedures.

This combination of risks creates a challenge to the processes employed in safety management. There is an urgent need for the maritime industry to develop dedicated standards, training programmes, and emergency protocols specifically targeting ammonia. The optimum multi-step approach will utilise well- established techniques and potentially adopt a cutting-edge approach that draws on data from the initial process and uses new agentic tools to analyse behaviours and responses in an emergency. Establishing a safety management baseline approach Ammonia safety management begins with systematic hazard identification through structured methodologies that have proven effective across industrial applications. Hazard Identification (HAZID) and Hazard and Operability study (HAZOP) workshops serve as collaborative platforms where multidisciplinary teams systematically map potential failure modes across the entire ammonia fuel system lifecycle. These workshops employ structured brainstorming techniques, historical incident analysis, and expert knowledge to identify risks spanning from routine bunkering operations to emergency scenarios in confined engine room spaces. The effectiveness of HAZID/HAZOP workshops is particularly evident in ammonia applications, where the acute toxicity requires a comprehensive risk understanding before system deployment. These sessions identify not only equipment-related hazards but also human risk factors, such as crew exposure during routine maintenance or emergency response procedures. The workshops produce detailed risk