Scrubber Sales Impacted By Cheaper Low-Sulfur Fuel

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday February 19, 2015

Sales of scrubbers over the last few months have been hit by cheaper bunkers, with ultra-low sulfur fuels becoming more attractive financially due to the low cost of crude, Platts reports.

As long as oil remains low, shippers are likely to turn to ultra-low sulfur fuels for Emission Control Area (ECA) compliance instead of scrubbers, according to Garrett Billemeyer, global technology development manager at scrubber company DuPont.

"The short-term scrubber market will be very much affected by the high-sulfur versus low-sulfur fuel differential in price," he said.

According to a report released by consulting firm MEC Intelligence, scrubber orders over the last four months have grown by 19 percent, a far cry from the six-month period between April and September 2014 when orders almost doubled.

Wärtsilä Corporation also said that though the company saw scrubber orders grow by 50 percent in 2014, many customers are now in a "wait-and-see mode" in terms of investment.

However, orders are forecasted to pick up if a global 0.5 percent sulfur cap is indeed implemented in 2020.

"Shippers with a long-term view will focus on marine scrubbers as an advantageous solution," said Billemeyer.

Earlier this month, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) indicated that the 0.5 percent cap would "very likely" come into effect in 2020, not 2025 as some shippers may have hoped.