There Are Still "Fundamental Issues" to Be Resolved Before the Industry Can Start Planning for 2020: OOCL

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday July 18, 2017

Box carrier OOCL says there are still "fundamental issues" to be resolved before planning can begin for the lower 0.50 percent global sulfur cap on marine fuel set to come into force in 2020.

"At this time, this topic is still under considerable debate among all the stakeholders and it is quite difficult to comment and plan ahead for something that is still unclear on the agenda," Stephen Ng, Director of Trades and Company Spokesman for OOCL, told Ship & Bunker.

"Important discussions such as the feasibility of the timeline for implementation and whether there would be enough LSF (low sulfur fuel) supply in the market are some fundamental issues that need to be ironed out before the industry can decide how best to adjust to the proposed regulation."

In May the company christened OOCL Hong Kong, the world's largest containership by carrying capacity, and has since confirmed to Ship & Bunker that the vessel has not been fitted with a scrubber.

OOCL's position echoes that of Hapag-Lloyd AG (Hapag-Lloyd) who last month told Ship & Bunker it was also still exploring its compliance options for 2020 as its decision could still be influenced by several issues currently under discussion at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and European Union (EU) levels.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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