Asia/Pacific News
Box Shippers Shelve Bunker-Saving Retrofits as Low Bunker Prices Increase Payback Times
Shipowner Rickmers Maritime Trust (Rickmers) Tuesday said box ship owners are shelving environmentally-friendly retrofits in light of the fall in bunker prices increasing payback times, Seatrade Global reports.
"A lot of projects have been shelved," said Rickmers CEO Thomas Preben Hansen.
Hansen's comments came at the Mare Forum Singapore 2015 conference.
He said his organisation had carried out container ship retrofits for as little as $500,000 to achieve 16 to 17 percent reductions in fuel consumption.
Prior to the bunker price drop, container lines had reportedly been seeking to retrofit vessels as quickly as possible to save on bunkers, which represent the biggest single cost for shipping lines.
But with the currently depressed bunker price seemingly remaining low, the economics of those decisions have changed.
Expected payback periods are now around two years instead of nine months.
Late last year Intermodal Shipbrokers Co. said eco-ships were losing their advantage as bunker prices came down changing return on investment calculations for less fuel-efficient ships which are less expensive upfront.
