As Hindu Business Line reports, an Indian official stated that India is thinking of not imposing the IMO 2020 sulphur regulations in its domestic waters, following the example that was firstly set by Indonesia, who then backed out.
Specifically, Indian National Shipowners Association (INSA) CEO Anil Devli discussed that the low sulphur fuel that has to be burnt to be in line with these regulations is estimated to cost about $80-130 per tonne, whereas the scrubbers will cost about $2 million. Therefore, the increase in costs will have to be offset by an increase in freight charges, or a fuel surcharge.
The sulphur cap regulations hold back the Indian ship owners who believe that the costs will make business unviable and lead to customers shunning coastal shipping or inland waterways mode for cheaper transportation modes such as rail and road sector.
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India tries to boost its shipping sector by pushing more cargo along the coast and to inland waterways, while in the meantime keeping the logistics cost low.
As a result, a shipping Ministry official commented that they will not insist on the implementation of the IMO sulphur cap regulations that ply in the domestic waters, in order to keep a check on the total logistics cost
Yet, for the time being, there has not been an official report from the Ministry.
In light of the approaching 2020 sulphur cap, the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) issued the ‘IMO Sulphur Cap 2020 Readiness Plan‘ for Singapore’s community.
