The is the world's first

liquid hydrogen Liquid hydrogen () is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is found naturally in the molecule, molecular H2 form. To exist as a liquid, H2 must be cooled below its critical point (thermodynamics), critical point of 33 Kelvins, ...

carrier ship. Built by the

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a Japanese Public company, public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, Heavy equipment (construction), heavy equipment, aerospace and Military, defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Minato, To ...

, it was put into service in 2019.

Design and construction

The ''Suiso Frontier'' was built by

, following support by the governments of Japan and Australia. The ship carries liquid hydrogen, the first load of which was extracted from

brown coal Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, Combustion, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered ...

in Australia and carried to

Kobe, Japan Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

. As a prototype, she is planned to lead to a commercial liquid hydrogen sometime in the mid-2020s. Although the first in service, a liquid hydrogen carrier ship is not a unique design. Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering of South Korea and the Wilhelmsen Group of Norway both have designs for a ship of the same type, the latter being a

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

vessel. A joint design by Canada's

Ballard Power Systems Ballard Power Systems Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products for markets such as heavy-duty motive (consisting of bus and tram applications), portable power, material handling as well as enginee ...

and Australia's Global Energy Ventures is currently developing a ship where hydrogen is transported in a compressed gas form. Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a member of HySTRA and, along with Iwatani,

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

, and Electric Power Development, plans to promote hydrogen as a fuel source. The ship carries a double-shielded and double-insulated 1,250-cubic-meter tank to both hold and maintain hydrogen at a temperature of −253 °C. She is 116 meters long, displaces 8,000 gross tons, molded breadth of 62 feet, molded depth of 35 feet and a molded draft of 15 feet. Its diesel-electric propulsion provides a top speed of 13 knots maintained by a crew of 25. The hydrogen's production plan quickly drew criticism for its management of the

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

that will be created as a byproduct.

Service history

On December 24, 2021, she left Japan for a two-week trip to Port of Hastings, Australia, which is expected to return to Japan in mid-February 2022 with her first cargo. Her trip was extended to 16 days as the vessel avoided bad weather and rough seas.

Incident

On the night of January 25, 2022, a malfunction occurred in the gas control system on the same ship anchored in Hastings Port. An investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau revealed that an improper type of electromagnetic valve with a different number of bolts was installed in the drive unit of the air fan exhaust damper of the ship's vaporized gas combustion system, causing the valve to be damaged during operation. This malfunction resulted in the closure of the damper of the fan, leading to inadequate airflow and overheating of the gas combustion system. The internal hydrogen flame became unstable, resulting in a 1-meter-high flame being emitted from the exhaust tower. Additionally, it was found that the control system of the gas combustion unit did not have the functionality to detect such unexpected valve closures during operation, and the automatic safety control was not effective. Upon receiving radio communication from crew members who saw the flames from the exhaust tower and the alarm indicating an increase in exhaust temperature, the third officer closed the hydrogen supply valve to the gas combustion system and promptly shut down the gas combustion unit. There were no casualties from the fire. At the time, the ship had a crew of 24 members, including Indians, Croatians, British, and Filipinos, all of whom were uninjured. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau classified this event as a serious incident.Australian Transport Safety Bureau. (2022). Marine Occurrence Investigation Report MO-2022-001.
/ref>

Gallery

File:SUISO FRONTIER left side view at Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyard October 18, 2020.jpg, Port side of the ''Suiso Frontier'' at the Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyards on October 18, 2020 File:SUISO FRONTIER left rear view at Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyard October 18, 2020 01.jpg, Port aft view of the ''Suiso Frontier'' at the Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyard on October 18, 2020

References

{{reflist Ships built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Hydrogen tankers