40% of VLCCs Could Have Scrubbers by the End of 2020

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday January 19, 2021

As much as 40% of VLCCs could have scrubbers fitted by the end of 2020, according to shipping brokerage Gibsons.

"Scrubber uptake is the highest in the VLCC fleet, followed by Suezmaxes," Gibsons said in a note to clients last week.

"Scrubber penetration is considerably lower for smaller size groups."

31% of VLCCs currently have scrubbers, according to Gibsons's estimates. Another 7% is due for scrubber retrofits, and 32% of the current orderbook will come with the systems installed, taking the share of the VLCC fleet with the emissions-cleaning technology to close to 40% by the end of 2020.

"The actual penetration of scrubbers in the spot market is expected to be even higher when excluded tonnage (NITC, sanctioned/storage vessels) are accounted for, while the anticipated demolition over the course of this year will also reduce the absolute number of non-scrubber tankers," Gibsons said.

Scrubber installations slowed significantly last year as the crude price collapse left the systems looking less profitable. 

The price spread between VLSFO and HSFO at Rotterdam -- a key measure of the savings to be made using scrubbers -- narrowed from $298/mt at the end of 2019 to as little as $26.50/mt in April 2020, according to Ship & Bunker pricing. But the spread has widened since, and stood at $83/mt on Friday.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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