KR Webzine Vol.154

1. Introduction

 
The rules and regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) can have a seismic impact on industry practices and the policies of States.

The initial IMO strategy adopted in 2018 aimed to reduce total annual GHG emissions by at least of 50% by 2050 compared to 2008, and to phase them out as soon as possible in this century. It is envisaged as a result that the introduction of zero-carbon and carbon-neutral fuels such as hydrogen will be accelerated from 2035.

To introduce zero-carbon or carbon-neutral fuel the relevant safety standards must be amended. Therefore, the background of developing the IGC and IGF Codes and policy trends in the IMO have been investigated.

2. Main Contents

(The IGC Code)An international standard for the construction and equipment of ships carrying liquefied gases in bulk, amendments have been made since its initial adoption in 1983.

The major changes have been as follows:
As the speed of change in the design of, and equipment for liquefied gas carriers accelerated in the early 2000's, Member States shared the view that incorrect interpretations and applications of the IGC Code would lead to incidents risking maritime safety and environmental protection, and adopted amendments to the Code.

Unlike existing IMO practices, the amendments were primarily developed by the industry working group*. The Interim recommendations for ships carrying liquefied hydrogen in bulk were adopted in 2016.

*Consisting of LNG shipping companies, shipbuilders, classification societies,
  and ship system and equipment designers

- In order to extract and import hydrogen from lignite buried in Australia, the Japanese government has proposed regulations on hydrogen transportation and is reviewing discussions on this subject with the support of a number of member countries including Korea, Norway and Italy. The contents of are as follows.

(IMO MSC.420(97)) The characteristics of liquid hydrogen with its high ignition point and cryogenic properties are not adequately reflected in the code, it was proposed that a regulation should be developed to reflect these characteristics, tailored to the design and construction of a liquid hydrogen transport vessel.

There are current international regulations for the management and storage of liquefied hydrogen and hydrogen gas, but they make no direct reference to maritime transport and the safety management systems on ships.  The IGC Code Chapter 17 outlines the safety requirements for the transport of liquid hydrogen in bulk. It was decided to review the revision of the IGC code, adding hydrogen to the list of minimum requirements in Chapter 19, and was proposed as a new task for CCC (Carriage of Cargoes and Containers), for the development of safety requirements for the transport of liquid hydrogen in bulk.

(IGF code) An international standard for ships operating with gas or low-flashpoint liquids as fuel, proposed in 2004 and adopted in 2015 after discussion on and development of the Code. The major

developments have been as follows:

- The Code was adopted as a result of concerns over the environmental impact of shipping
  and the proposal to use natural gases as fuel, in order to meet international environmental
  regulations.

- The Interim Guidelines for the safety of ships using fuel cell power installations
  (in force since 2014), the Interim Guidelines for the safety of ships using methyl/ethyl
  alcohol as fuel (since 2013), and the Interim Guidelines for low flash point fuel use ship
  safety requirements (since 2013) are, inter alia, under discussion.

3. Conclusion

 
Future amendments to the IGC and IGF codes are essential as the maritime industry moves to de-carbonate. The IGF codes have been developed and adopted for the use of natural gas as ship fuel, and various other fuels are under discussion. In the future, carbon-free and carbon-neutral fuels such as hydrogen are expected to be available through the revision of the IGF code, and revision work for hydrogen transportation will be carried out under the IGC code.

The next 10 years until 2030 is a period of paradigm shift for the eco-friendly shipping sector.  It is expected that the rise and fall of each country's industries and companies will depend on how they preemptively prepare and respond during this period.

Accordingly, KR is taking part in the 'Hydrogen Ship Safety Standards Development Project' being run by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, launched in 2020 and representing a 29 billion won investment over five years.  The project will examine; 'Development of safety standards for hydrogen ship bunkering and unloading stations for hydrogen-carrying ships' and 'Hydrogen storage containers for ships and fuel supply system safety standards development', the safety standards developed through the project will be reflected in the IGF and IGC codes.