As the maritime industry transitions towards alternative fuels like ammonia, methanol, hydrogen, and LNG, there’s a pressing need to enhance crew training and competence.
This includes developing new technical skills, updating regulatory frameworks, and integrating auto- mation to minimize risks associat- ed with these fuels. Key areas for improvement include bunkering operations, maintenance, safety protocols, and leadership skills. Initiatives like Lloyd’s Register Mar- itime Decarbonisation Hub and the Maersk Mc-Kinney-Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping are leading efforts to assess risks and develop comprehensive training programs. The goal is to ensure seafarers are well-prepared for the challenges of the industry’s green transition.
What is the current state of crew training that you see in the industry regarding crew training for handling ammonia, methanol, hydrogen, and LNG?
Different parts of the industry are at varying stages with regards
to crew competences and new fuels. The regulatory framework
for using methanol, hydrogen and ammonia as marine fuels, the standards defining their properties, the acceptable thresholds for their use onboard and the competencies to safely handle them in day-to-day operations are all at different stages of development. Decarbonisation also goes hand in glove with digitalisation. In
this area alone, the amount of training and upskilling required across the industry to ensure that seafarers have the relevant new competencies and training is highly significant. This decade will be the defining age of technology as new technologies and projects appear in the horizon. New fuels and technologies will present significant challenges, and for some companies an overall shift in safety culture will be required to ensure a safe transition.
IMO Standards for Training and Watchkeeping (STCW) detail the current knowledge, skills and competency requirements for sea- farers on vessels operating with conventional fuels. It also outlines further requirements for specific ship types, like tankers, as well
as for ships using low flashpoint fuels, like LNG / LPG (see IGF Code). Additionally, the marine industry has developed competency guidelines (e.g., SGMF and SIGTTO) for low flashpoint gases and already has experience with carrying and handling some of the new fuels, such as ammonia, as cargo.
The LNG shipping industry has already built a robust safety culture within its fleet. This level of best practice will be required across
all segments, including the bulker and container industries. A top- down approach, involving everyone in the business starting at the C-suite and cascading down to all employees at sea and onshore is necessary for a culture change programme to be effective.
What can be done to improve the level of crew knowledge regarding the topic as the orders for engines, retrofits, and new- builds which run on such fuels are more and more prevalent in the shipping sector?
Further competencies will need to be established to address the unique characteristics of new fuels, notably ammonia, methanol and hydrogen. Crew training will be essential in order to equip them with the new technical skills required to manage the sup- port systems, equipment and components for these new fuels. Increased automation is also anticipated to minimise crew contact with certain toxic substances that accompany the use of alternative fuels and should also be factored into crew training programmes. As a minimum, regulators and industry stakeholders will need to conduct a gap analysis to determine the current knowledge and skills level, compare them with the anticipated skills required and determine any essential upskilling. Moreover, regulators should work with industry and manufacturers to identify the new or unique knowledge requirements that will emerge as technology evolves. The levels of training will vary depending on the systems and equipment. Often this will simply require familiarisation with the manufacturer’s training/ orientation information package, but in other scenarios, as we have seen with the use and handling of LNG, STCW will need to be updated to formalise new competency and training requirements. Existing knowledge related to dual-fuel engines, running on fuels such as LNG/LPG, and the carriage of proposed alternative fuels as cargo will make the task of projecting new requirements for alternative fuels less onerous.
Areas that will most likely be required to be updated or new competencies and training modules created include:
- Bunkering operations and SIMOPS
- Maintenance to accommodate material requirements
- Occupational health and safety - Process safety management
- Data analytics
- Automation
- Risk assessments
- Updated technical knowledge and non-technical skills related to decision making, communication, supervision and leader- ship, especially for potentially high-risk operations including emergency response.
The integration of alternative fuel systems on existing ships and the skills to be deployed for the retrofit projects should also not go unnoticed. Areas of intervention for upskilling are mentioned below:
▪ Naval architecture: The design and location of system elements including tanks, fuel preparation rooms and piping are expected to need careful consideration to comply with safety requirements, particularly for venting and hazardous zones. Assessing the impact of each part on the vessel’s structural strength and stability will also be critical.
▪ Electrical engineering: Enhanced monitoring (leak and fire detection), automated mitigation systems (including purging, firefighting, venting and ventilation)
▪ Fuel handling: Especially during the commissioning and testing stages of the retrofit projects, yards will need to have the capability to perform fuel conversions. This capacity is limited at the moment given the limited exposure of yards to existing alternative fuelled ships in operation.
Tangible steps demonstrating commitment to crew training and competency development
In enhancing preparedness in the deployment of ammonia as a marine fuel, Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub and the Maersk Mc-Kinney-Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZS) completed a multi-disciplinary programme to assess the design challenges and identify the risks to seafaring personnel.
Some of the key risk areas that emerged as part of this research were the following:
- Technical and non-technical skills, knowledge, understand- ing, and application
- Documented processes and work practices
- Occupational Health Hazards
- Process Safety Hazards
- Ergonomics Design and the human-machine interface and - Management of change
Within a broader context, placing seafarers at the heart of ship- ping’s energy transition has been flagged by the Maritime Just Transition Task Force, an effort that is collaboratively led by the UNGC, the IMO, the ILO, ICS and ITF, which has now progressed to phase 2. Research commissioned by the Maritime Just Transition Task Force in 2023 identified that 800,000 seafarers may require additional training by the mid-2030s to operate vessels run on
zero or near zero emission fuels. This training is vital to ensure a successful and just green transition. The training framework, funded through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, will equip seafarers with skills in decarbonization, and provide guidance for trainers and the industry.
Embracing seafarers’ capacity and confidence to safely perform their duties in a fast-evolving industry is high on the agenda of all stakeholders in the maritime ecosystem with the first check point in sight at the end of the decade.
* Programme Manager at Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub