The article ‘Handle with care: Alternative fuels are greener but come with risks’ was first published on Issue 5 of the Singapore Maritime Week 2024 Show Dallies; it has been reproduced in its entirety on Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times with permission from The Nutgraf and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore:

Jaime Niam
[email protected] 

The maritime industry is looking to make alternative marine propulsion fuels mainstream, to meet new industry emissions standards. But facilitating this transition requires careful management of its risks, said Mr Diego Cosulich, Regional Director and Consulting Chemist at CMC Marine. 

Sharing his insights at the Maritime Services Leaders Forum on Thursday, he noted that alternative fuels – biofuels, methanol, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and ammonia – are not more risky than traditional fuels. They simply need to be handled safely and effectively. 

“The usage of these new bunkers is far from impossible, just more complicated,” said Mr Cosulich in his presentation titled Managing Risks of Future Marine Propulsion Fuels, emphasising the need for new safety considerations to ensure their viability. 

In fact, attitudes towards traditional fuels, which have been considered relatively safe, have also changed in the past few years, he added. This follows recent cases of chemical contamination in bunkers that have resulted in catastrophic costs due to engine blackouts, causing groundings and collisions. 

With alternative fuels, the key is to develop a comprehensive understanding of their characteristics – and how to use and store them properly, he said.

BIOFUELS 

With its adoption in the aviation and land transport industries, biofuels are also considered a viable alternative in maritime. This is in large part due to their drop-in nature, enabling them to be used without substantial retrofitting of existing vessel infrastructure. 

But their production is labour-intensive and prolonged storage can lead to microbial growth, resulting in clogging or fouling. Regular tank inspections are required to ensure that these do not result in engine failures or exposure risks to the crew.

METHANOL 

Easy to store and handle, with no need for costly cryogenic fuel tanks, methanol is gaining traction as a viable alternative fuel. 

Its risks mostly have to do with its flammability at ambient temperatures – especially when it burns with an invisible flame. “It’s one thing to fight a fire you can see, and another to fight one you cannot see,” said Mr Cosulich. 

Methanol also dissolves very quickly in water, resulting in rapid marine pollution once there are leaks.

LNG 

LNG is often considered the preferred alternative fuel, as it is able to reduce up to 23 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. 

The main challenge lies with its storage. LNG takes up a lot of space, having to be stored in cryogenic conditions at -162 deg C to shrink its volume for transport. It also has low specific energy, storing less energy per unit of volume. Bunker tanks have to be almost double their current size in order to accommodate the same energy capacity as traditional fuels.

AMMONIA 

While the other three fuels are low-carbon options, ammonia gas is the only product that is completely carbon-free. But its toxicity is a huge concern. 

To avoid serious health hazards, ammonia cannot be directly released into the atmosphere and requires another layer of compartmentalisation in the engine room to minimise exposure and leakage risks. 

Ultimately, bunkering will become a highly specialised operation for all alternative fuels, and this requires highly trained and proficient personnel to safely and successfully pull off. 

“The bunker quantity survey should become the bunker quantity and safety survey (BQSS),” Mr Cosulich said. “The crew should be highly trained and licensed to handle each type of new fuel, and BQSS should be compulsory for the first few years until the industry is more confident with more available data.”

Singapore Maritime Week 2024 was organised by Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore from 15 to 19 April. 

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Article credit: The Nutgraf/ Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 29 April 2024