World News
Number of Vessels Opting for Scrubbers Quadruples in 12 Months
The number of vessels either ordered or installed with scrubbers has near quadrupled in the space of less than a year, according to the latest numbers from DNV GL.
In May last year the company put the figure at 817, which itself was a result of having jumped some 50% over the previous months.
Today they put the figure at 3,229, Platts reports, with 857 of those coming as part of new building projects.
The situation is certainly a dramatic turnaround from where the industry stood 12 months ago, but will not come as a surprise to all.
Writing for Ship & Bunker in May last year, Dr. R. Vis predicted that there would eventually be a surge of interest in scrubbers akin to a stampede of Wildebeest in Serengeti Park.
In the official IMO Fuel Availability Report used to inform IMO on when the new global 0.50% sulfur cap should come into force, CE Delft predicted in 2020 some 3,800 vessels would be operating with scrubbers.