The tool operates by allowing users to specify their role (e.g., shipyard operator, equipment manufacturer, insurer, or regulatory authority), select a fuel type, and indicate the relevant fuel-handling zone on a vessel (e.g., storage, preparation, or engine room). It then provides outputs including safety considerations, recommended risk-reduction measures, applicable International Maritime Organization (IMO) guidelines and classification society rules, and areas requiring further research or regulatory development. For identified gaps, the tool suggests potential actions.

Alternative fuels present distinct safety challenges compared to traditional fuels: ammonia is toxic; methanol fires produce invisible flames that complicate detection and suppression; and hydrogen storage under pressure risks explosions or extended jet flames.

The report's gap-analysis framework evaluates each fuel across four vessel zones using a safety-adapted version of NASA's Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). Methanol is assessed as nearest to commercial readiness, ammonia as mid-stage in development, and hydrogen as early-stage for shipboard combustion applications.

DBI conducted related research, including simulations of ammonia leaks at the Port of Rønne, tests on water mist systems for methanol pool fires, and studies on hydrogen jet flames.

Leonard Sang Tuei, project leader for METAFUEL at DBI, stated: "The green transition will be impossible without safety. You want to be able to load your cargo or passengers without thinking twice if it is a methanol-powered ship. The entire value chain needs to make sure that regardless of fuel, it is 'just a ship.'"

Sang Tuei added: "Let's say you are a shipowner wanting to retrofit a cargo vessel into using methanol. Once you've given that input, the tool generates a list of regulatory gaps concerning the engine room and the fuel preparation room. But the really smart part is that the tool also identifies recommended or suggested actions for all the identified gaps."

He further noted: "DBI has simulated ammonia leaks in the Port of Rønne, we have experimented with the optimal water mist configuration for methanol pool fires, and we have done research into hydrogen jet flames. We can't say we have bridged all the gaps, but the report brings the industry a lot closer to a safer implementation of these fuels."

Read the METAFUEL report

Read the article on DBI's web page

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