IMO2020 Fuel Switch 'Done by December 10': Shipowner

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday December 3, 2019

Most ships will have switched over to IMO2020 grade fuel by December 10, a tanker ship operator has said.

President and chief executive of Ardmore Shippng Anthony Gurnee said in a earnings call that although his company's ships, which are spot trading on shorter voyages, will switch to compliant fuel later this month, his understanding is that most ships will have made the switch by mid-month.

"We're hearing the bulk of the switchover is going to happen very end of November, early December, so that by probably December 10, the switchover is more or less complete," Gurnee said in a transcript of the call released by financial website the Motley Fool.

Gurnee surmised that "demand for gasoil is likely to be higher than it's been forecast" on the back of fewer scrubber installations which would mean stronger demand for tanker shipping. In addition, he detected "risk aversion" among ship operators to using very low sulfur fuel oil, at least to begin with.

But since the new VLSFO blends "will be heavily middle distillate in the beginning", his company is looking at "more gasoil demand, more refinery throughput, more oil transport and more trading activity", he said.

Gurnee was discussing his company's third quarter results.