Large part of global fleet may miss D-2 standard deadline

Someway behind the LNG carrier sector are the container ship fleet (31% installed), LPG carriers (29% installed) and dry bulk carriers (34% installed).

Of the fleets that are around a third of the way there, the LPG fleet, with ’only’ 1,000 vessels left to have BWMS installed, look close to reaching the deadline with a large proportion of the fleet meeting the deadline.

The tanker sector is in a dreadful position with only 20% of the fleet recorded as having BWMS installed. According to VesselsValue, the 20% of the fleet with BWMS installed accounts for 50% of the value of the whole tanker fleet.

This suggests a large proportion of the remaining 80% of the tanker fleet, over 10,000 vessels, are not going to meet the deadline and unless the freight market changes dramatically, they will struggle to meet the investment criteria to be retrofit installed with BWMS.

The tanker sector is in a relatively good shape compared with the laggards evident in the offshore sector. Only 3% of offshore vessels (308 units) have been fitted with BWMS. There are very few exemptions from meeting the requirement to provide reliable treatment of invasive aquatic species, and offshore operators may find employment opportunities severely curtailed post-8 September 2024 without BWMS installed on their vessels.

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