IMO 2020: Scrubber Uptake Now 4% of Vessels, 10% by Tonnage

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday February 18, 2019

Some 4% of the world fleet plus order book is slated to have scrubbers, according to the latest data from Clarksons.

The majority of those are still waiting to get their exhaust gas cleaning units installed, with 509 vessels currently fitted with scrubbers and 1,189 vessels pending retrofit - a total of 1,698 vessels. 

The data accounts for vessels over 2,000 GT and is correct as at February 4, 2019.

As has been previously discussed on Ship & Bunker, the key question for bunker suppliers when it comes to scrubber uptake is not the number of vessels with units fitted but what the resulting HSFO demand will be.

While that is difficult to determine due to the dramatic difference in bunker consumption between vessels of different sizes, Clarksons' told Ship & Bunker it estimates that in GT terms, vessels with scrubbers are equivalent to 10% of the global fleet over 2,000 GT and 32% of the orderbook.

Woodmac recently said it believed that when the new global sulfur cap comes into force next year, scrubbed bunkers would also account for 10% of total bunker demand.