Lloyd’s Register, Exmar and Belgian Federal Public Service (FPS) for Mobility and Transport contributed to new IMO interim guidelines enabling ammonia cargo to be used as marine fuel.

Belgium’s FPS, supported by LR and EXMAR, earlier led work to amend the IGC Code to remove restrictions on ammonia use as fuel, Lloyd’s Register said in an emailed statement on Thursday.

The trio submitted the initial draft of the guidelines to the IMO correspondence group, with member states subsequently refining the text.

The guidelines were agreed upon during the IMO’s Sub-Committee on the Carriage of Cargoes and Containers’ 11th session (CCC 11) meeting and are expected to be formally approved at the Maritime Safety Committee’s 111th session (MSC 111) in May 2026.

The three stakeholders stressed that the collaboration demonstrates how industry and regulators can jointly accelerate progress on alternative marine fuels.

“This collaboration shows what’s possible when industry leaders, regulators and technical experts come together to enable change,” Claudene Sharp-Patel, Global Technical Director at LR, said. 

“LR has been involved in ammonia-as-fuel projects from their earliest stages through to realisation.”