IMO2020: Hapag-Lloyd Expands Scrubber "Pilot" Programme to 10 Vessels

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday November 23, 2018

Hapag-Lloyd is expanding its scrubber "pilot" programme to 10 vessels, up from the previous two vessels that the box carrier said in August it would use to test the technology.

The move comes despite remaining lukewarm on the tech, maintaining as recently as last month that the use of low sulfur fuel oil "is the most environmentally friendly solution in the short term" to comply with the upcoming IMO 2020 rule.

The units will be fitted to 10 of its 13,000 TEU capacity Hamburg-class ships, a number of trade media outlets reported following comments by chief operating officer, Anthony Firmin at the firm's Capital Markets Day earlier this week.

Installation of the "hybrid-ready" units - i.e. open loop systems designed for easy conversion to hybrid operation - will take place during 2019 and 2020.

"Using compliant low-sulfur fuels is the key solution for Hapag-Lloyd. However, we want to make sure we test and make use of all relevant solutions, which is why we decided to also retrofit our Hamburg Class vessels with EGCS," Tradewinds quoted Firmin as saying.

Hapag-Lloyd is also set to test liquified natural gas (LNG) bunkers, and plans to convert one of the 17 "LNG Ready" vessels it inherited as part of last years' merger with UASC to use the alternative fuel.

The carrier has 224 vessels in its fleet, half owned and half chartered, according to data from Alphaliner.