In a recent informal poll of shipowners and operators conducted by US class society ABS, 53% said their fleets were not yet ready to meet the 2020 sulphur cap requirements.
As the deadline for compliance is now less than 18 months away, ABS has put out a useful advisory on marine fuel oil, available for download from the class society’s website.
“The IMO 2020 sulphur cap requirement will introduce a significant demand change from heavy fuel to low sulfur fuel almost overnight. The industry currently is debating how to prepare as the consequences of this shift are difficult to predict,” commented Dr Kirsi Tikka, ABS executive vice president.
The upcoming sulphur cap dominated discussion at last week’s Posidonia exhibition in Athens while today the Financial Times carries an interview with Junichiro Ikeda, president and CEO of Japan’s largest shipping line, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), who warned that unless lines were able to pass on costs of the coming sulphur cap to clients, “We’re all going to go bust.”
