Safety & decarbonisation, charted together.
The maritime sector is late to decarbonisation, and safety cannot be retrofitted. ISMDN is a global research network closing the safety, technology and skills gaps as the fleet transitions to alternative fuels.
A network built to turn shared evidence into safer action.
Validate gaps
Mapping and validating the safety, technology and regulatory gaps across the fuel value chain.
Regional challenges
Surfacing regional skill needs and just-transition challenges, with a strong LMIC focus.
Co-create strategies
Co-developing research strategies and a living roadmap the whole sector can act on.
Global collaboration
Connecting universities, operators, regulators and class societies across eight countries.
What is happening across the network.
A selection of news, events and library highlights. Hover or tap a card to flip it.
ISMDN organised the decarbonisation session at IMHFC 2026
ISMDN organised the decarbonisation session at IMHFC 2026
ISMDN's session on decarbonisation, alternative fuels, and the energy transition took place at the ITU Maritime Faculty on 4 September, chaired by Assoc. Prof. Dr Burak Zincir and co-organised by Prof. Elif Bal Beşikçi. Five papers, in collaboration between ISMDN and GloMDECAS, both Lloyd's Register Foundation-funded projects.
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ISMDN at the 5th MASTIC Conference in Bali
ISMDN at the 5th MASTIC Conference in Bali
Our partners at Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember led ISMDN's engagement at the 5th Maritime Safety International Conference in Bali, from workshops on smart navigation and decommissioning to a vessel-monitoring handover to the Klungkung Regency government.
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ISMDN to present at the AIChE Annual Meeting 2026
ISMDN to present at the AIChE Annual Meeting 2026
ISMDN will present 'Systemic Safety Gaps in Maritime Decarbonisation' at the AIChE Annual Meeting 2026, in the Sustainable Maritime Fuels and Safety session in Minneapolis this November.
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ISMDN partner UMT examines port decarbonisation at Penang Port
ISMDN partner UMT examines port decarbonisation at Penang Port
A study visit to the Penang Port Commission gathered first-hand evidence on hybrid cranes, renewable energy integration and ship waste management in a working Malaysian port.
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UK Expert Workshop maps the priority research gaps
UK Expert Workshop maps the priority research gaps
Held on 23 April 2026 at Lloyd's Register HQ in London, the inaugural ISMDN expert workshop brought together 26 participants from across the maritime sector.
Read more →ELVHYS Final Conference: Liquid Hydrogen Safety
ELVHYS Final Conference: Liquid Hydrogen Safety
The ELVHYS project concludes with a two-day dissemination conference in Brussels, held in a hybrid format, with options to attend in person or online. The agenda covers liquid hydrogen transfer infrastructure, material resistance at cryogenic temperatures, jet fire modelling, component performance in fire, consequence assessment for LH2 incidents, hazard identification and risk analysis for transfer operations, BLEVE phenomena, and training and guidelines that feed into regulation and standards development. ELVHYS is a Horizon Europe project supported by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, with UKRI funding for the UK participants, and by the Lloyd's Register Foundation.
View event ↗Four themes, one safety case.
Our work is organised into four interlocking themes spanning the full alternative-fuel value chain.
Infrastructure & Logistics
Ports, bunkering and supply-chain readiness for alternative fuels, and the financial, spatial and regulatory conditions that make them safe and viable. The barrier is rarely a single technical failure, but the simultaneous absence of investment confidence, port space, evidence and regulatory obligation.
Explore theme →THEME 02Ship Design, Operations & Systems
Onboard fuel storage, engine retrofit and systems integration, replacing bespoke, project-by-project risk assessments with standardised methods, validated models and clear class and flag responsibilities.
Explore theme →THEME 03Leakage, Dispersion, Explosion & Fire
The cross-cutting safety theme for new fuels. It reframes the question from “how do we disperse gas?” to “how do we detect a leak early enough to act?”, and designs for realistic leakage rather than the fiction of zero leakage.
Explore theme →THEME 04Human Factors & Training
Design the system for the human, then train the human for the system, not the reverse. Human factors are too often retrofitted at the operational stage, leaving crews to manage unfamiliar fuels alongside legacy systems under mounting cognitive load.
Explore theme →Research & Innovation Roadmap for Safer Decarbonisation
Mapping the priority research gaps, regional skill needs and the route to closing them, turning shared evidence into a plan the whole sector can act on.
Read the roadmap · under constructionFrom evidence to action
- ◆Identify the priority research gaps across the fuel value chain.
- ◆Pool evidence and capability from partners in eight countries.
- ◆Translate findings into a shared, actionable research agenda.
- ◆Equip the sector with the skills and training to deliver it safely.