Following MSC Joanna’s ban from UAE for carrying more than 700 MT of high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) when boarded at Jebel Ali Port, MSC replied that the scrubber fit has been delayed due to the COVID-19 crisis.
To remind, the UAE’s Federal Transport Authority (FTA) said the ship was carrying more than 700 MT of high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) when boarded at Jebel Ali Port, although there had been warnings to the ship to offload the non-compliant fuel before calling UAE.
Following the ban, MSC stated that it has been in discussions with the FTA, further commenting that the MSC JOANNA had only used compliant low sulphur fuel since January.
The company added that several Chinese shipyards have been delaying scrubber installations because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Concluding, the shipping company noted that
MSC JOANNA is one of those ships which has been subject to an EGCS (scrubber) delay and has been carrying traditional marine fuel in a sealed tank to be ready for testing while we wait to find out when the installation will take place: it is currently scheduled for June 2020.
