Why Us

The Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) established to promote safety and industry best practice in the use of gas as a marine fuel. It has Consultative Status with the International Maritime Organisation and is the definitive information resource for the industry.

Formed in 2013, the Society is governed by a representative Board, and driven by three principal Committees; Technical, Environmental and APAC Committees. SGMF has several Working Groups at any one time solving issues and producing outputs such as Formal Publications and Technical Guidance Notices for the industry.

As well as the IMO, SGMF has formal relationships with ISO, NGVA, USCG, SIGTTO, CLIA, GIE, BPO, OCIMF, IACS, EMSA, IAPH, Intertanko, Intercargo, BIMCO and Interferry.

The Society has over 145 international members ranging from energy majors, port authorities, fuel suppliers through to equipment manufacturers, training organisations and classification societies. Members have exclusive access to an online Directory for each other so they find contact details of all registered users.

The Society is governed by a representative Board and driven by three principal Committees.

The Technical Committee

 Established in 2014 this committee focuses on:

• Safety
• Operations
• Technical
• Training & Competence
• Measurement
• IMO MSC

The Environmental Committee

Established in 2017 to address the reduction in carbon emissions from the use of LNG as a marine fuel,  the committee has held 11 meetings with a focus on:

• Emissions measurement of IGF vessels
• Steering group for Ammonia as a marine fuel
• Policy – LCA
• Policy - CO2 Equivalence
• IMO MEPC

The APAC Committee

Established in July 2021 to represent over 35 member organisations in the APAC region with a focus on strategic issues not covered at the TC or EC level.

• Covers Asia Pacific geographical region (Singapore / Malaysia / Australasia / China / Japan / Korea)
• Work Group 41: Gas as Marine Fuel Regional Dashboard
• Work Group 42: Ammonia - Strategic Pathway

SGMF has several Working Groups at any one time solving problems and typically producing outputs such as Guidelines and checklists and tools for industry use. Current Work Group topics include the following:

Work Group 16 - LNG fuelled vessels in a port environment - Assessment Zone
The Assessment Zone will be looked at again and guidance provided on what should be considered when it is formulated. This work group would consider the potential hazards and their implications but more importantly show the generally accepted risk mitigations (and alternatives or improvements) available to minimise any risk.

WG17 - Operational and Design Considerations for LNG Fuelled Vessels
The work group will share operational and design challenges, and lessons learned for the safe and efficient operation of LNG fuelled vessels. The work on a new guideline “LNG Fuel Tanks – Loading/Filling Limits and Level Instrumentation: Considerations and Recommendations” is ongoing and will be published early Q2 2022. This work group has also started the discussion on BOG (Boil of Gas) management strategies
for IGF vessels which will be the main topic under discussion for next year.

WG41 - Gas as Marine Fuel Regional Dashboard
This work group will show the environmental and practical impact of converting to LNG as marine fuel along APAC’s busiest trade routes.

WG42 - Ammonia - Strategic Pathway
This work group will provide critical input on the strategic availability of green ammonia to SGMF’s planned ‘Ammonia as a Marine Fuel – an introductory guide’.

As a member you can get involved in as many or as little of these WGs or comittees and you can refer the discussion and content via this portal.  Details of Groups with open vacancies are show in the Portal and members can apply directly there.

The Society has produced several ISBN publications to date with many more in the pipeline.  Members receive one set of complimentary hardback copy of each publication and have immediate online access to these. Additional copies can be purchased at discounted rates.

Non-members can purchase publications from the Web Shop but do not have access to electronic copies.

Members can download formal publications, technical guidance notes and reference documents from the Library. Presentations from SGMF Forums can also be found in the Library. An exclusive folder allows Members to share relevant information with the membership such as press releases, marketing information, images etc.

BASiL (Bunkering Area Safety information LNG) is SGMF’s automated LNG gas dispersion tool.  You enter the data from your operation and it will tell you your Safe working distance which is the critical element of your bunkering operation to get right.  It is designed to help you  manage bunkering risks on a consistent basis across the industry via the definition of a safety zone that depends on the type of bunkering operation being undertaken and a declared size of that zone.

Features:

• Easy to use via the SGMF website.
• Available to everyone. FREE to Members and unlimited access, non-members can purchase reports via the Web Shop.
• Tested and Proven, BASiL distances are proved within 5% of very expensive physical testing and gas dispersion modelling simulations.
• BASiL is robust and can quickly calculate a range of safety distances for different ships over a variety of climatic conditions worldwide, previously unavailable or expensive/bespoke.
• The value of BASiL as an assessment technique is in its fast assessment of 3- dimensional zones, repeatability and on a conservative basis.

We have produced an instructional video to help BASiL (SGMF’s automated Bunkering Area Safety information for LNG model) users complete their data input while informing them of the physics behind their selections. You can view the video here: 

Vimeo

YouTube

Women in Gas-fuelled Shipping (WiGS) is the Society's initiative to support gender diversity and inclusion in the sector. Inspired by the IMO 2019 theme ‘Empowering Women in the Maritime Sector’ our aim is to highlight, showcase and appreciate women’s contribution to the gas-fuelled shipping sector and to also inspire the next generation of women coming into the industry.

We have featured the profile of nearly 50 women from various technical and business support roles across our global membership. Their backgrounds vary from mathematics to marketing and from chemistry to ex-Commander of the US Coast Guard. These profiles showcase and appreciate the great contribution the women are making to their organisations, SGMF and the industry as it makes the massive transition to cleaner gaseous fuels. Meet some of our WiGS here...

The WiGS Speaker Bank has been created specifically to address the lack of women speakers at industry events. The Speaker Bank gives the women featured in our WiGS initiative, visibility and the opportunity to serve on panels and speak at industry events.

This is a free resource for conference organisers.

The backgrounds of the speakers listed below vary from chemical engineering to port operations, and they are located across the globe. They are all professionals who can speak on a range of technical topics but can also speak about their journey into the maritime sector.

Please liaise with them directly via their LinkedIn profiles to discuss your event and what you are looking for. As they are volunteers, it would be good practice to cover their expenses.

Our hope is to continue growing this list of volunteer speakers until we have gender-balanced panels and speakers at industry events.

Here you find the basic details of all IGF code ships in operation as kindly provided by DNV  since 2013.  We try to keep the list as up to date as possible in order to have the same numbers and if members provide further information on their vessels then we add it here to have a complete a list as possible.

Here you find the basic details of all IGF code ships on order as kindly provided by DNV  since 2013.  We try to keep the list as up to date as possible in order to have the same numbers and if members provide further information on their vessels then we add it here to have a complete a list as possible.

Where can you get LNG for your ship?  Here is a list of everywhere that we know it has happened, the list is building gradually and contains everything from a Terminal to a jetty where they had a truck perhaps just once so the whole range is included.  The list is supplemented with information kindly provided by DNV via the LNGi link.

Perhaps the most significant indicator of the growth of the industry is the number of vessels in the  LNG bunkering fleet.  It has been growing proportionately and ahead of  the number of LNG-powered vessels in operation.

SGMF members can see vessel specifications of these LNGBVs in the Member Library.

The Website Calendar shows both upcoming SGMF and industry gatherings.

A key benefit of membership is of course networking and SGMF Members have complimentary access to an increasing number of networking events such as Member Forums which are held regularly across the globe. Recent locations for such forums include:

• USA
• Finland
• Japan
• Singapore
• Norway
• France
• Malaysia
• Rottterdam

At SGMF we like to learn from mistakes so whereever there has been an incident when it gets to the stage of reporting we add it to the list and provide the reports in one place here for ease of reference.  If there has subsequently been a change or update of a regulation or recommendation then we refer to it specifically here, we hope the number stays low indefinately and this is a key indicator of the success of the industry.