Hydrogen carrier Suiso Frontier under investigation after Jan. 25 fire

A Jan. 25 fire on board the Suiso Frontier hydrogen carrier is being investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), the bureau confirmed April 5.

The fire occurred after the vessel had completed loading liquid hydrogen in the Australian port of Hastings, Victoria. There were no casualties.

Suiso Frontier, built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, is the world's first commercial liquid hydrogen ship. It recently completed a maiden transport to Japan to demonstrate the feasibility of moving liquid hydrogen at minus 253 degrees Celsius over long distances.

"The ATSB is investigating a gas pressure control equipment malfunction on board the gas carrier Suiso Frontier after the ship had loaded liquefied hydrogen at Western Port, Hastings," it said.

At 2147 AEST on Jan. 25 a flame was seen coming from the gas combustion unit's exhaust on deck. The unit was immediately shutdown and isolated before the crew implemented a fire prevention response plan.

"No further abnormalities were reported and there were no injuries, damage or pollution," the bureau said. "As part of the investigation, the ATSB will interview relevant persons and obtain other evidence, including recorded data."

Suiso Frontier is a part of Australia's Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project, which is producing hydrogen from coal gasification in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria.

A spokesperson for HESC told S&P Global Commodity Insights the company's timelines would not be altered by the incident.

"We know what happened, there was no delay, no-one was hurt and the team have tweaked operational processes to further enhance safety," the spokesperson said.

Publication of a final report from ATSB is expected in the third quarter of this year, a spokesperson for ATSB told S&P Global.

The vessel had sailed from Kobe, Japan in December 2021, reaching Port of Hastings on Jan. 20. It sailed back to Kobe on Jan. 28, reaching its destination on Feb. 25.

The tanker has a capacity of 1,250 cu m, equating to about 75 mt of liquid hydrogen.

The A$500 million ($359 million) HESC project is funded by Australian and Japanese governments. Its consortium partners in the Australian-funded portion of the project are Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Iwatani, Marubeni, AGL and Sumitomo.

HESC aims to produce 225,000 mt/year of carbon-neutral liquefied hydrogen in a commercial phase seen around 2030.

S&P Global Commodity Insights assessed the price of Victorian hydrogen (produced via lignite gasification with CCS, including capex) at $3.6/kg April 4, up 9% month on month.

Japanese hydrogen (conventional SMR without CCS, including capex) was assessed at $5.75/kg, down 29% month on month.