Container sector soars to top of segments for scrubber orders
There has been a lot of debate about the best way to meet the 2020 low sulphur directive, but I believe the most popular compliance method in the container ship sector will be scrubbers.
This is despite the world’s largest container ship operator Maersk announcing scrubbers are not the solution for them, and that there are other options available such as low sulphur oil and LNG.
According to DNV GL data, as of July, there are 178 scrubber orders for container ships – only beaten by 185 orders for bulk ships. This places it second in all ship segments for scrubber installation.
I think this will continue. While CMA CGM has adopted LNG as fuel, I think it will be a while before this is rapidly followed by the rest of the industry, as the bunkering infrastructure still needs to be developed.
Operators’ concerns over the low sulphur fuels available are also fuelling the scrubber surge.
New compliant blended fuels will be coming on the market – but as they do not exist yet, engine makers have not been able to test their compatibility with their engines.
I believe that at this moment, scrubbers are a more reliable, easy option for the box ship sector – and the number of orders will continue to grow.
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