During the 2024 SAFETY4SEA Singapore Forum, Capt. Chatur Wahyu, Director, Singapore Maritime Academy (SMA), highlighted the Academy’s commitment to training international seafarers and maritime personnel in the safe handling of alternative marine fuels.
The industry has made its decisions and plans to use alternative fuels like methanol, ammonia, and potentially hydrogen in the future to achieve net-zero or near-zero carbon emissions by 2050. However, while methanol and ammonia are considered environmentally friendly, they pose risks to human and marine life, making them hazardous to handle.
What would happen in the event of an accident or explosion involving methanol and ammonia?
In the last 20 years, there have been three cases of methanol explosions, each resulting in fatalities. As for ammonia, 30 years ago, there was a major explosion at a facility in Senegal, West Africa, where over 100 people died and more than a thousand were injured. Ammonia is harmful not only through inhalation and ingestion, but also on contact, and it can be fatal.
Because of these risks, it’s crucial to properly train crew members and professionals to handle these fuels safely and efficiently.
Last year, Singapore conducted the first ship-to-ship methanol bunkering operation in the Port of Singapore on 27 July 2023. Following this, the Singapore Maritime Authority (SMA) worked closely with the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) to design and develop the training course for handling methanol safely.
Since there were no existing references for creating such training programs, SMA used the IMO interim guidelines to help develop our syllabus.
Based on this, we created two types of courses:
- Basic course for crew members assisting with bunkering operations.
- Advanced course for ship officers and managers.
The basic course covers the chemical and physical properties of methanol, emergency response, and the necessary safety gear and equipment for bunkering operations.
The advanced course goes deeper, covering the fuel system, storage systems, and the engine room piping arrangement. Additionally, it includes training on gas plume dynamics, teaching professionals how to assess risks when gases are released into the environment or if fuel is spilled into the water.
Furthermore, methanol fires are unique because they are invisible during daylight, making them difficult to detect and extinguish.
The SMA teaches crew members how to use infrared cameras to spot the fire and gas detectors to detect hazardous gases. This additional practical firefighting training goes beyond the IMO guidelines.
In addition we partnered up with our colleagues at the Center of Excellence in Maritime Safety, which 
developed an immersive learning package using VR technology. This allows trainees, including firefighters from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), to simulate bunkering operations step by step, making them more familiar with the risks involved.
In July, the IMO Just Transition Task Force released new guidelines, which we reviewed in a gap analysis. We identified a 5-6% gap, which we have addressed, ensuring our training is now fully compliant with both the IMO interim guidelines and the Just Transition Task Force guidelines.
The first vessel using ammonia as fuel is expected to be delivered in early 2026, and we are preparing to train the crew before they to conduct the bunkering operations in Singapore.
Additionally, in April the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) announced the creation of the Maritime Energy Training Facility (MEF). This is a decentralized network of training providers to support the training of crew members in handling ammonia and methanol as new fuels.
Currently, SMA is actively supporting this initiative, with 23 industry stakeholders having signed letters of intent (LOIs) to participate.
Furthermore, the IMO Secretary-General, Arsenio Dominguez visited the facilities in SMA and CEMS to learn more about the support provided by the MEF.
The facilities include areas for firefighting exercises, an engine room simulator, engineering workshops, and partnerships with the Center for Maritime Safety, which is developing a VR training package to supplement the ammonia training.
Looking ahead, SMA is fully committed to supporting Singapore’s position as a leading global maritime hub and a key bunkering hub. In fact, Singapore set a bunkering sales record last year, reaching 51.8 million tons.
We are eager to continue this success and support MPA in maintaining Singapore’s role as a primary bunkering hub in the years to come.
The views presented are only those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.
Above article has been edited from Capt. Chatur Wahyu’s presentation during the 2024 SAFETY4SEA Singapore Forum.
Explore more by watching his video presentation here below
