Leading shipping consultancy Drewry has dismissed scrubbers as a “messy answer” in shipping’s ongoing search to reduce its emissions.
In a just published report looking at LNG as a future ship fuel, Drewry said scrubbers cost approximately $4m to install, and users will still be faced with the problem of waste disposal.
“Owners will also feel vulnerable to later changes in regulations that might make their scrubbers non-compliant,” Drewry warned.
Unlike LNG and low-sulphur marine gasoil, the report pointed out scrubbers will not reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, and this is an area that is likely to come under increasing regulatory scrutiny.
A survey of owners by Drewry suggests that they see scrubbers as only a short-term solution.
The Drewry report was optimistic that LNG uptake would be solid among owners in the medium term.
“It is likely that owners will opt for [low-sulphur marine gasoil] in the early years, while newbuildings will increasingly be built with LNG-capable engines,” Drewry predicted.
“More LNG projects will need to come on-line and more bunkering facilities will need to be completed in a short period of time if the industry is to cope with demand for LNG bunkering,” the report concluded.
