Hydrogen Release and Ignition on Hydrogen Sea-Vessel
A fire broke out on the worlds first hydrogen carrier vessel shortly before setting sail from Australia to Japan carrying the worlds first international shipment of liquefied hydrogen. A flame was seen coming from the gas combustion units exhaust on deck. The unit was immediately shut down and isolated before the crew implemented the fire prevention response plan.The event occurred after the ship had loaded liquefied hydrogen, at berth in the harbour, during an attempt to burn excess boil-off gas from the liquid hydrogen cargo tank.
Event Date
January 25, 2022
Record Quality Indicator
Region / Country
Event Initiating System
Classification of the Physical Effects
Nature of the Consequences
Causes
Cause Comments
The immediate cause of the event was an incorrectly fitted valve which caused the system designed to combust, cool and dilute the boil-off gas to close. A contributing cause was an ineffective automated safety system. Two flame detectors were available inside the gas combustion unit to spot flames and shut down the machine, but did not detect abnormalities.
Facility Information
Application Type
Application
Specific Application Supply Chain Stage
Components Involved
LH2 storage, boil-off system, gas combustion unit, exhaust, automation system
Storage/Process Medium
Location Type
Location description
Ship and/or Harbor
Operational Condition
Pre-event Summary
The ship had been loaded with liquefied hydrogen
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
The lesson learned quoted from the ATSB investigation report (see references): This incident highlights the importance of ensuring automated shipboard operating systems are equipped with safety controls to prevent hazardous consequences in the event of a malfunction. Since operators may be inherently removed from the control loop of automated systems, there is a heightened risk that they will not be able to identify abnormalities promptly and respond to them. Therefore, system safeguards should be appropriate for promptly alerting operators to any issues, or automatically stopping the operation to prevent damage or injury. The incident also shows the importance of stringent manufacturer quality controls to ensure correct system components are specified and fitted to equipment.More in general, the incident shows that hydrogen systems deployments are affected by still existing difficulties along the components supply chain(s): Tier 1 and 2 suppliers are not necessarily experts in hydrogen-based design, are asked to provide few products which cannot respect the quality control and the level of maturity typical of big production lines. There is also a lack of coordination, caused by lack of communication an/or trust along he supply chain.
Event Nature
Emergency Action
Despite the fact that the automatic detection and mitigation system did not function as designed, thanks to the eagle-eyed able seaman radioing to the ships cargo control room, the gas combustion unit was quickly shut down, and a major fire was prevented.The unit was immediately shut down and isolated before the crew implemented the fire prevention response plan.
Release Type
Release Substance
Hydrogen Release Concentration (%)
100.00
Detonation
No
Deflagration
No
High Pressure Explosion
No
High Voltage Explosion
No
Source Category
References
References
Investigation report of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau:
https://www.atsb.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-02/MO-2022-001%20Final…
(retrieved February 2023)
HydrogenInsight news of 2 February 2023
https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/transport/cause-of-one-metre-flames-on-…