IMO CCC 12 finalises revised safety guidance for methanol- and ethanol-fuelled ships

The IMO Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC 12), meeting in London from 14 to 18 September 2026, finalised a draft revision of the Interim Guidelines for the Safety of Ships Using Methyl/Ethyl Alcohol as Fuel, MSC.1/Circ.1621. Lloyd’s Register and Bureau Veritas both report that the revised text is expected to go to the Maritime Safety Committee’s 113th session, anticipated in June 2027, for formal approval.

The outcome is significant for owners, operators and technical managers pursuing methanol or ethanol as marine fuels. According to Lloyd’s Register, the revised guidance contains extensive technical changes addressing toxicity, bunkering, fire safety, operations and personnel protection. Bureau Veritas similarly says the revision draws on operational experience accumulated during implementation. The sub-committee’s action does not itself create a new mandatory requirement: the guidelines remain interim pending MSC action. Nevertheless, the completed draft provides the clearest current indication of the safety expectations likely to shape newbuilding specifications, conversion designs, shipboard procedures and assurance work.

CCC 12 also advanced related work on onboard carbon capture and storage systems, while further development of guidance for low-flashpoint oil fuels and certain IGF Code matters was deferred for correspondence-group work. These parallel workstreams underline that alternative-fuel compliance is still evolving by fuel type and technology rather than through a single settled rulebook.

**Why this matters:** Methanol-fuelled tonnage is moving from project planning into operational reality, making the gap between a vessel’s design approval and its day-to-day control framework increasingly important. Owners and managers should compare existing fuel manuals, bunkering plans, emergency procedures, crew competence matrices, PPE arrangements and terminal interfaces against the draft’s direction as soon as authoritative text is available. Charterers and cargo interests should also recognise that fuel-selection decisions can affect port-call readiness, bunkering windows, operational restrictions and delay exposure. For P&I and hull interests, the practical evidence trail—risk assessments, drills, maintenance, crew familiarisation and documented interfaces with bunker suppliers—will remain central if an incident occurs.

The immediate operational implication is preparation, not retrospective compliance. Companies should avoid representing the CCC 12 draft as already binding, but should use the period before MSC 113 to identify design or management-system gaps that may become more costly to rectify once the revised guidance is formally approved.