Transfennica Fits Half Its Fleet with Scrubbers in Preparation for ECA Rule Change

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday December 4, 2014

Dutch short-sea operator Transfennica has fitted almost half its fleet with scrubbers as it prepares for 2015 Emissions Control Area (ECA) rules, IHS Maritime 360 reports.

Six ConRo vessels within Transfennica's fleet have been fitted with the exhaust cleaning technology, while the remaining seven will switch to using ECA-compliant diesel.

New rules, which come into force on January 1, will reduce the allowable sulfur content of marine fuels to 0.10 percent by weight for ships sailing within ECA zones in the North and Baltic Seas and North America.

Transfennica recently said it would cease operations on its Bilbao-Portsmouth-Zeebrugge route as a result of the new rules, which will increase operating costs dramatically.

But the company hopes these changes will be enough to prepare it for trading post-2015.

"We don't see any bigger disturbances [for the company's operations] but it will be a challenging year, especially at the beginning," said Dirk Witteveen, Transfennica's Managing Director.

"We will have to see how the market develops."

Another European operator, P&O Ferries, said its prices would rise as much as 30 percent as a result of the new rules.