Asia/Pacific News
Liquid Hydrogen Carrier Valve Malfuction Shows Need for Robust Fault Detection: Report
A valve failure that caused a flame to flare up briefly on the world's first liquid hydrogen carrier before its first trip from Australia to Japan has highlighted the need for strong fault detection systems, an Australian safety report has found.
The cause of the incident on the Suiso Frontier on 25 January last year has been fixed, the Australian Transportation Safety Board report said last week according to Reuters. The ship had loaded liquid hydrogen for the trip the day before.
The malfunction did not stop the ship going ahead with its test journey, and the ship's builder, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, said in March the trip had shown that shipping liquid hydrogen was technically feasible.
Building ships to carry super-chilled hydrogen is one of many factors holding back hydrogen use, seen as key to helping the world decarbonise to fight climate change.
Hydrogen could play a part in shipping's decarbonisation as an alternative to oil-derived bunker fuel.
