A risk assessment of scrubber use for marine transport by rule-based fuzzy FMEA

To comply with the International Maritime Organization’s sulfur regulations, shipping companies have mainly favored scrubber systems. Even though the ship’s operations might be continued provided regulatory constraints are followed, the installation presents system-based risks depending on the scrubber type. This study’s primary aim is to inform the shipping industry about the risks associated with various scrubber applications on ships and to propose guidelines to ensure safer scrubber operation on marine vessels. Consequently, a risk evaluation is conducted on all kinds of scrubber systems. Experts in the marine industry identify the main subsystems and components and evaluate their failure modes and consequences. Using the fuzzy failure modes and effects analysis method, the acquired judgments are analyzed. The risk value of each failure scenario is computed using the Mamdani fuzzy inference technique and the evaluation of expert ratings. The riskiest failure modes identified by the investigation include the sensing element, injection nozzles, packed peds, and seawater system valves.