Abstract: Recently, the shipping industry has been under increasing pressure to improve its environmental
impact with a target of a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, compared
to the 2008 levels. For this reason, great attention has been placed on alternative zero-carbon fuels,
specifically ammonia, which is considered a promising solution for shipping decarbonisation. In this
respect, a novel ammonia-powered fuel-cell configuration is proposed as an energy-efficient power
generation configuration with excellent environmental performance. However, there are safety and
reliability concerns of the proposed ammonia-powered system that need to be addressed prior to its
wider acceptance by the maritime community.

Therefore, this is the first attempt to holistically examine
the safety, operability, and reliability of an ammonia fuel-cell-powered ship, while considering
the bunkering and fuel specifications. The proposed methodology includes the novel combination of
a systematic preliminary hazard identification process with a functional and model-based approach
for simulating the impact of various hazards. Furthermore, the critical faults and functional failures
of the proposed system are identified and ranked according to their importance. This work can
be beneficial for both shipowners and policymakers by introducing technical innovation and for
supporting the future regulatory framework.

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