IMO2020: Around 4,000 Scrubber Equipped Vessels by Jan 1

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday June 28, 2019

The Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems Association (EGCSA) is predicting there will now be around 4,000 ships fitted with scrubbers by January 1, 2020.

The number represents a huge swing from little more than 12 months ago when industry talking heads were still flummoxed as to why uptake was practically nonexistent

Of course, the key question for suppliers is what the impact on continued HSFO supply will be, with previous predictions by a number of well respected sources suggesting it could remain at about a third of overall demand.

EGCSA says the current projection of 4,000 scrubber equipped ships will translate into approximately 18% of global demand, which in turn will help "alleviate some of the pressure" on 0.50% sulfur fuel supplies.

"This investment in exhaust gas cleaning systems by a substantial portion of ship-owners will also benefit those ship-owners who have chosen to do nothing and plan just to procure fuel that complies with IMO limits," says EGCSA.