Norway-based shipping company Höegh Autoliners reiterated its firm position against scrubbers, as an option for compliance with the IMO’s 2020 sulphur cap. In a recent interview this week, the company’s CEO, Ivar Myklebust, said it will achieve compliance by using Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil or Low Sulphur Marine Gas Oil.
There are many reasons to why Höegh Autoliners has decided against scrubbers, said Mr. Myklebust. The first he noted is that a scrubber cleans the exhaust from particulates before the exhaust is emitted to the air, but the residual does not go away, and the scrubber systems wash this into the sea.
Surely, scrubbers will reduce emissions to air, but it appears as it will just move the emissions to the sea instead,
…he said.
Implementing a scrubber can actually end up increasing the CO2 footprint of a vessel. The scrubber adds weight to the vessel and requires tens of thousands of tons of water to wash through the systems each day. This requires energy and energy comes from burning more fuel, in this case High Sulphur Fuel,
…he further explained.
Another reason for deciding against scrubbers is that ports have already started to ban open loop scrubber, according to Mr. Myklebust:
Shanghai wider port area and Singapore are two ports that have implemented the ban and it is quite likely that Sulfur Emission Control Areas (SECAs) will follow. The Port of Fujairah is furthermore forbidding the discharge of wastewater with sulphur.
If this is a trend it is impossible to say, but it looks like more ports will follow. Considering that each of Höegh Autoliners’ vessels, spend 60-70 days in ports annually, often in areas where scrubbers are banned, it makes little sense for us to invest in scrubbers.
In addition, he moved on to emphasize that structurally, Pure Car and Truck Carriers are not ideal for scrubbers.
Fourteen decks high, it is challenging to put in a scrubber that should go from the engine room up through the whole vessel to the chimney.
Notwithstanding the option, transporting cargo by sea will be more expensive from 1 January 2020, he underlined. Those that invest in scrubbers will need their investments to be paid off and for those using Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil or Low Sulphur Marine Gas Oil, the fuel will be considerably more expensive.
With shipping rates already down at unsustainable levels in the RoRo industry, this is not a cost that can be carried by the shipping lines.” Ivar says. “In our industry, the standard is to share the risk and return of bunker price shifts with the customers, through a Bunker Adjustment Factor in the contracts. Focus is now on assuring that all our contracts reflect the new standard bunker point, as we approach end of 2019,
….he concluded.
