Grimaldi Backs Scrubbers and Batteries to "Go Beyond" IMO 2020 Compliance

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday June 22, 2018

Grimaldi Group has given its backing to scrubbers and marine battery technology for IMO 2020 as it aims to go beyond compliance with the upcoming global 0.50% sulfur cap on marine fuel set to come into force on January 1, 2020.

Scrubbers will be used in both existing ships and new-builds scheduled for delivery in 2020, Grimaldi said in an article published Thursday in RINA's Seaview magazine.

This includes two super-large Grimaldi Lines ferries, Cruise Roma and Cruise Barcelona, that will undergo refitting work in January.

Scrubbers and batteries will also be used for its recent order of six hybrid ro-ro vessels from CSC Jinling Shipyard in China, for delivery starting from 2020.

As Ship & Bunker previously reported, those vessels will feature batteries that will act as a personal cold ironing system to reduce at-berth emissions.

Uptake of exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCSs), more commonly known as scrubbers, is currently lower than officials had originally envisaged but has increased notably in recent months.

And while the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkers has gained considerable momentum this year, come 2020 the vast majority of vessels are set to switch to using inherently compliant fuel.

"It is not viable to retrofit existing ships to run on LNG, and reliable infrastructure to supply gas and electricity is not available in all ports. Perhaps in the future, we will be able to build ships powered purely by hydrogen," Grimaldi says.

"However, given the current situation of ships, ports, infrastructure and logistics, and given the type of ships in our fleet and the routes that they operate, scrubbers plus batteries are the winning solution for us."