Overview:

The pros­pect of using ammonia as a fuel and storage medium for hydrogen in ship­ping, as envi­saged in CAMPFIRE, opens up a new area of appli­ca­tion for the chemical. Ammonia (NH3) as a mari­time fuel is a new field of appli­ca­tion for this subs­tance and is the first time it has been used outside of an indus­trial context. 

The CAMPFIRE consor­tium is inves­ti­ga­ting the tech­nical appli­ca­tions of ammonia on sports yachts (F07) and on a larger scale, for example in inland ship­ping (CF08). For the propul­sion of the sports yacht, the energy system consis­ting of tank system, ammonia propul­sion, ship energy supply and fuel can be rese­ar­ched and demons­trated in a timely manner due to the low supply and propul­sion power required and the preli­mi­nary work. The use of the new fuel ammonia in both the leisure and inland ship­ping sectors entails considerable new liabi­lity risks compared to the previous exclu­si­vely indus­trial use of ammonia, espe­ci­ally for produc­tion. Major acci­dents invol­ving ammonia take on a new dimen­sion in this context. It is neces­sary for opera­tors to prepare the legal frame­work for poten­tial liabi­lity and to iden­tify and address legal risks there. 

Against this back­ground, the safe hand­ling of NH3 on the various types of ship is a key compo­nent from a tech­nical, economic and legal perspec­tive. In parti­cular, the ques­tion of liabi­lity and distri­bu­tion of respon­si­bi­li­ties in the event of an acci­dent with uncon­trolled release of ammonia into the envi­ron­ment is a legal aspect that should not be negle­cted. In the CF11_3 project, this ques­tion is to be inves­ti­gated in a legal study. On the basis of a juris­pru­den­tial metho­do­logy, it will be deter­mined which liabi­lity risks could arise from the use of ammonia as a mari­time fuel outside of indus­trial use.