World News
Wartsila: Owners Using Pandemic Trade Pause for Retrofits
With the coronavirus pandemic having slowed global trade this year, Wartsila says owners have been making the best of a bad situation by using the downtime to fit efficiency retrofits to their vessels.
"With half of Wärtsilä's retrofits requiring docking or a period of out-of-service, the unprecedented crisis has offered an economically sound opportunity to upgrade and transform old ships into leaner and cleaner vessels fit for the future," it said.
The "glass half full" message was accompanied with a stark reminder that while much has changed as a result of COVID-19, the IMO 2030 and IMO 2050 emissions targets remain the same.
"If it was challenging before, now it is even more so for our customers because of a strong volatility in the market," said Giulio Tirelli, Director of Business Development at Wärtsilä Marine Power.
"However, all shipowners still face those fixed deadlines."