Singapore Takes Lead in Training Seafarers to Handle Greener Fuels

Alternative fuels like methanol are friendlier to the environment but can be deadly to humans and marine life

- Sharon Salim

International shipping is going greener through the use of fuels such as methanol and ammonia, but training has to be scaled up for maritime professionals so that they are able to handle these hazardous materials.

Captain Chatur Wahyu, director of the Singapore Maritime Academy, told The Straits Times that while such fuels are friendlier to the environment, they can be deadly to humans and marine life and can be difficult to handle.

For instance, methanol is not only toxic and highly flammable, but also its fires cannot be seen in daylight, he said. "This is why we train our crew to use infrared cameras and a gas detector to detect the fires if methanol is leaking. They also need to know how to put out the fires."

With international shipping transitioning to alternative fuels, seafarers must be equipped with skills to handle these fuels and the new technologies associated with them, said Minister of State for Transport and Law Murali Pillai in his opening speech on March 28 at the Maritime Manpower Forum, which was held as part of Singapore Maritime Week (SMW), an annual industry event organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

"Singapore has a part to play in this as it chairs the International Maritime Organisation working group which develops training guidelines for seafarers on board ships using alternative fuels," Mr Murali said.

So far, more than 500 seafarers, maritime professionals and firefighters have gone for basic and advanced training courses for handling methanol, Capt Chatur said. Of the 500 who have gone for the training, 60 per cent are local.

To facilitate the training of seafarers in the safe handling and operating of ships using alternative marine fuels, MPA and its partners on March 27 announced the Maritime Energy Training Facility Digital Platform.