DHT Hodings published its fourth quarter 2018 earning calls, in which reports that the ban of scrubbers in some ports and coastal areas would not damage the economics of installing equipment. By 2020, the company aims to have 18 of its 27 VLCCs fitted with exhaust gas cleaning systems.The number comprises of two newbuildings and 16 retrofits, all of which would be fitted with open-loop systems.
Specifically, the company’s Co-Chief Executive Officer, Svein Moxnes Harfjeld, said that the announcements about the ban do not change the expected economics for these investments.
He continued stating that they will focus on the use of their scrubbers.
DHT Holdings added that the systems can be converted into hybrid systems. However, this is not a possible scenario.
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Harfjeld noted that many years ago, waiting for the IMO 2020, the shipowner launched a project whereby it configured the ships’ fuel tank lay-out allowing all the vessels to carry various grades of fuels in segregation.
The company confirmed the expected economics for the investments after a number of countries adopted the scrubber ban in January 2019, while some other announced their plans to implement the ban starting from January 2020.
Many are the countries that have announced the ban of scrubbers.
China has banned open-loop scrubbers from the country’s emission control areas (ECAs). The new regulation, which came into force on January 1, bans vessels from discharging wastewater and burning residue from open-loop scrubbers.
Most importantly, the ban focuses to wash water used to strip hazardous sulfur emissions from engine exhaust gases, and affects inland ECAs, port waters under coastal DECA and the Bohai Bay.
Additionally, Singapore proceeded to banning open loop exhaust gas scrubbers in its waters when the International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2020 fuel oil sulphur limit enters into force.
Port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates is the last major port that bans open loop scrubbers, in order to be in line with IMO’s strict regulations concerning sulphur emissions, following the steps of Singapore and China.
