The Maritime Technologies Forum (MTF) is a group of flag States and classification societies which aims to
bridge the gap between technological progress and regulatory process. To encourage safe application
of alternative fuels for industry wide application, acceptance, and consistent development and implementation; MTF had published “Guidelines to support development of new SMS and/or strengthen
the existing SMS for alternative fuels onboard ship/company fleet”. Among the broad spectrum of
technologies, with some early pilot trials and fuel solutions; ship designers, builders, owners and operators
have identified anhydrous ammonia (NH3) as a potential zero carbon emission solution.
Noting the industry forecasts on the uptake of future fuels with low to zero carbon emissions, ammonia
was identified as one of the frontrunners and relatively, on balance, was seen to have newer risks for
the maritime industry such as toxicity and corrosiveness. As such MTF took the initiative to develop
these guidelines for use by industry as a first step to close identified gaps when using ammonia as fuel.
Additional considerations would be needed when ammonia cargo is used as fuel, which are out of the
scope of these guidelines.
In these guidelines, MTF members followed a method to assess these gaps by reviewing ISM Code’s Part
A implementation for each section and identifying areas that may be relevant to when ammonia is used
as fuel onboard. Industry stakeholders were consulted during the development of these guidelines to
strengthen the document with their different sector experiences. The list of these industry stakeholders can be found at the end of this document.
Companies can use these guidelines to develop new SMS and/or strengthen their existing SMS for
ammonia as fuel onboard their fleet. MTF recommends that these guidelines may be used in addition
to other similar existing and/or upcoming guidelines (of which some are already referenced within this
document) to ensure a safe application of ammonia as fuel on board ships.
As a fuel, ammonia has the potential to be almost carbon free from production to combustion and in its
liquid form is energy denser relatively to Hydrogen or Natural Gas so it may be particularly suitable for
longer ship voyages. Ammonia is seen as one of the frontrunners among the future fuels, with estimates
putting e-ammonia (also referred to as green ammonia) as fuel at 35% to 50% of the market, with
optimistic estimates ranging up to 79% by year 2050[6].
One of the main concerns with using ammonia as fuel in the maritime industry is ensuring its safe handling, operation and maintenance; Toxicity being one of the prominent risks[7], covered later on in the guidelines.
A number of industry stakeholders representing different maritime sectors contributed towards the
development of these guidelines. Their contributions were in the form of workshop discussions and
document reviews, representing input from different sectors, which helped to strengthen these guidelines.
MTF is grateful for their contribution and the full list of these industry stakeholders can be found at the
end of this document.
The guidance and recommendations provided in this report are based along with other sources on the
‘Interim Guidelines for the Safety of Ships Using Ammonia as Fuel’ (MSC.1/Circ.1687)[8].
The findings and recommendations in this report represent a collaborative effort between participating
MTF members. While the advice given in this report has been developed using the best currently
available information, it is intended to be used solely as guidance. No responsibility is accepted by MTF
or its members for any consequences resulting directly or indirectly from the adoption of any of the
recommendations in this report. This report does not stop MTF members from having independent
opinions or conclusions.