Freight forwarder Panalpina has warned its ocean customers of potential disruption to supply chains ahead of the IMO 2020 sulphur cap. The regulators have laid out the rules, but the path for ship owners, operators and carriers to complying with the low sulphur limit remains rocky.
In light of a ‘rocky path to IMO compliance’ as Panalpina commented, they published new bunker tariffs for all major trade lanes.
Panalpina announced that it expects implementation already at the end of Q3 or beginning of Q4. The new bunker tariffs, which take effect on 1 July, cover more than 40 trade lanes across the world and follow the introduction of a low-sulphur fuel mechanism earlier this year.
Yet, the freight forwarder is aware of the fact that there’s a possibility of supply chain disruptions due to delays in fuel supply, denied port calls, retrofitting or downtime of ships. Expect choppy waves in the months leading up to and stretching beyond the IMO2020 sulfur cap.
Concluding, Panalpina pays close attention to developments and is ready to support Ocean Freight customers in dealing with higher costs and potential supply chain disruptions.
