Belgium's Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport (FPS Mobility), gas shipping company Exmar and classification society Lloyd's Register have contributed to the approval of safety guidelines for ammonia as a fuel on IGC ships at the 111th session of the International Maritime Organization's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 111).

The guidelines were developed through collaboration between the three organisations, with the Directorate-General Shipping of FPS Mobility taking the lead role at the IMO in drafting the framework. According to the parties involved, the guidelines draw on Exmar's and Lloyd's Register's experience in mid-size gas carrier shipbuilding, as well as operational knowledge accumulated over more than four decades.

Nathalie Deleuze, FPS Mobility's maritime expert in alternative fuels, commented: "As a public authority, we want to facilitate the energy transition by ensuring that an appropriate regulatory framework is in place in good time. Thanks to close cooperation with the industry, this framework is also tailored to the realities on the ground."

Celine Audenaerdt, head of environmental and technical affairs at KBRV, said: "Through intensive collaboration and the combination of strong in-house competence and hands-on experience, the partners have succeeded in developing robust and practical safety guidelines."

Liam Blackmore, global head of technology adoption and integration at Lloyd's Register, remarked: "The approval of these guidelines provides a clear signal that ammonia is moving from concept to a fuel with an emerging international safety framework. It demonstrates how close collaboration between industry, flag administrations and technical organisations can accelerate the safe adoption of new fuels at scale. Being part of this collaboration reinforces our role as a trusted advisor helping to turn ambition into practical, scalable solutions for the maritime energy transition."

Kristof Coppé, director fleet operations and technical business development at Exmar, stated: "Drawing on more than four decades of operational experience and the challenges encountered along the way, we jointly developed these guidelines through a strong partnership. We would like to thank the teams at FPS Mobility and Lloyd's Register for their excellent cooperation and valuable contribution throughout the process."

The IMO had previously adopted interim guidelines for ammonia as a marine fuel to support early adopters and the first vessels designed to operate on the fuel. The newly approved guidelines are intended to support the wider deployment of ammonia-fuelled vessels once the first such ships enter service, with experience gained from those operations expected to feed into the further development of the international regulatory framework.

Ammonia is considered by parts of the shipping industry to have potential as a zero-carbon marine fuel, given that it contains no carbon. However, its toxicity presents safety challenges that the new guidelines are designed to address within a controlled regulatory environment.