In response to global concerns about climate change and decarbonization across every sector, pressure has mounted on the maritime industry to reduce its environmental impacts, specifically its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, representing around 2.8% of the global total. As such, it prompts new alternative fuels that align with the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s 2050 net-zero target. In recent years, several alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol, have been proposed. However, alternative fuels face many challenges regarding cost, safety, and efficiency compared to traditional fossil fuels. Currently, methanol is considered one of the most promising alternatives since it is available, easy to store, and can take full advantage of existing infrastructure in situ. Moreover, methanol has a lower carbon intensity than conventional fossil fuels. However, its usage poses related risks of toxicity and flammability; thus, this area still needs in-depth research regarding hazard control. This study implements a systematic five-step methodology. Through a comprehensive literature review, the predominant hazards are delineated. To systematically analyze these risks, this study introduces a novel hazard-based coding system developed to categorize hazards into three classifications: toxicity, flammability, and explosivity. This system is specifically designed to analyze qualitative reports from thirty methanol accident investigations utilizing MAXQDA software. Subsequently, safety barriers related to methanol are identified, followed by a gap analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of existing safety measures. The findings indicate that physical hazards, including flammability and explosivity, represented the majority of identified risks. Furthermore, tank explosions emerged as a prominent sub-hazard, frequently linked to the highest number of reported fatalities. A gap analysis delineates the identified barriers related to Equipment and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Human Error Reduction, the Legal Framework, and First Aid, comparing them against the current measures outlined in IMO Circular 1621 and other legislative frameworks. Consequently, the analysis highlights critical gaps in technical guidelines and operational procedures related to methanol use. The study recommends the development of fuel-specific safety protocols, mandatory training for seafarers, and regulatory updates to address the unique hazards of methanol. These measures are necessary to create higher safety standards and make methanol a viable alternative fuel by ensuring its safe integration into the industry.

Movement of people is poised to be the next big thing in shipping. At the same time, almost 2,000 deaths are believed to occur annually as a result of passenger vessel accidents. A sample of 78 marine safety investigation reports for the period 2010-2021 drawn from the IMO’s marine casualty investigation database were found to have resulted in 319 fatalities and 19 injuries besides total loss of five vessels and material damage to 61 other vessels. Therefore, this study attempted to look into passenger ship accidents as a whole to identify commonalities and contributing factors that may not be immediately apparent when looking at accidents individually. A particular focus of the study was the human element. IMO Circular MSC-MEPC.3/Circ.4/Rev.1 formed the basis for the taxonomy applied in this study. The key findings of the study suggest the following: (a) not all human error belongs onboard given that the attribution of human erroneous actions in the analysed sample of passenger ship accidents was around 37% with the remainder attributed to the human element in organisational and management contributing factors, and external agencies; (b) safety off-duty matters equally given that as many as 20-45% of the errors in occupational accidents were linked to the onboard safety culture beyond the seafarers’ watch hours; (c) voyage planning needs preparing given that inadequate attention to safety management contributed nearly 30% in the occurrence pattern of groundings; (d) shore personnel attending to cargo operations and maintenance onboard need crew in attendance given that shore personnel would be unfamiliar with the ship and its work environment, and likely to suffer occupational accidents if left unattended during routine activities, or even during conduct of drills onboard; and (e) survival craft hook needs a relook given the continuing occupational accidents involving the inadvertent release of survival craft during recovery of craft from water.