Liquid Hydrogen Maritime Transportation

Transportation of hydrogen in bulk in liquid form in large volume in maritime transportation has gained interest with the development of the production of hydrogen.

Today, from a regulatory perspective, this activity of shipping is not regulated at the international level (through the International Maritime Organization (IMO)), although the IMO has issued in 2016 Interim Recommendations on the carriage of liquefied hydrogen in bulk that specifies requirements to be followed as an initial basis. This IMO document is meant to be reviewed when more knowledge and information is acquired with concrete projects. This document would later serve as a basis for incorporation of “Hydrogen” in the main IMO Code dedicated to transportation of liquefied gases in bulk (the IMO “IGC” Code).

Today, one Liquid Hydrogen carrier (ship carrying liquid hydrogen) has been constructed and is in operation, the “Suiso Frontier” and a significant number of ship projects are being considered, at various phases of development.

The carriage of liquid hydrogen in bulk carries its own set of challenges. Based on initial knowledge acquired on projects, this paper will give insights on the general challenges associated with maritime transportation of liquid hydrogen in bulk and share on the regulatory landscape and what lies ahead.

This paper is proposed by Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore, a leading classification society in the maritime business, involved in the certification of ship projects and associated equipment onboard.