Lloyd's Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub (the Decarb Hub) and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) have jointly launched a suite of resources designed to help shipowners, operators and managers prepare for the safe adoption of ammonia as a marine fuel.

The package comprises an ammonia process safety management (PSM) maturity self-assessment tool and three ammonia competency and training practitioner handbooks. Collectively, they form part of an initiative called 'Fuel Safety Frameworks: Ammonia', which aims to draw on expertise from across the shipping, energy, fuel production, training and technology sectors. The resources are available free of charge via the Decarb Hub website.

Addressing ammonia's hazard profile

While progress has been made in understanding the technical requirements for safe ammonia fuel systems, the two organisations say ammonia's toxicity introduces safety challenges that must be managed throughout a vessel's operating life. They argue this calls for new approaches to operational safety management, training and risk control, both ashore and at sea.

The PSM maturity self-assessment tool uses a five-tier maturity scale intended to help operators identify weaknesses in their safety management practices and track improvements over time. Rather than checking regulatory compliance, the tool is designed to support ongoing improvement. Because best practices for managing ammonia safety are still emerging in the maritime sector, the tool draws its evaluation framework from industries that already manage comparable hazards, such as chemical processing and oil and gas.

Tom Chitseko, Head of Risk and Safety at the Decarb Hub, commented: "The industry has made significant progress in understanding the technical requirements for ammonia-fuelled vessels. People, processes and organisations must be equally ready. These resources provide practical guidance to help shipowners, operators and managers build that readiness and more systematically manage the risks posed by the use of ammonia as a marine fuel."

Competency handbooks cover three safety-critical areas

The three practitioner handbooks focus on emergency response, maintenance, and leak detection, management, isolation and repair. Each handbook translates operational scenarios into competency and training expectations for a range of shipboard and shore-based roles, including seafarers, vessel managers, terminal personnel, shore support teams and emergency responders.

Martin Eriksen, Head of Safety Leadership and Operations at MMMCZCS, stated: "Ammonia asks for more of our safety management than conventional fuels we're used to. A leak that would be a contained minor technical failure with conventional fuel can become an operational crisis with ammonia. This tool has been developed so operators don't have to work that out the hard way — it gives them a structured way to see where their safety management stands today, and what 'ammonia-ready' looks like in practice."

Eriksen noted: "Additionally, the tool draws on process safety management, which has a decades-long track record in chemical engineering and oil and gas, handling exactly the kind of hazards ammonia introduces. This tool translates that experience into something maritime operators can use, in their language, against their operations."

The resources build on the partners' earlier Ammonia Phase 3 Competencies and Training project, which set out to identify the capabilities and operational requirements needed to support the safe deployment of ammonia-fuelled vessels.