Euronav Scrubber Skepticism Wanes Further With Four Retrofits This Year

The Alsace is one of the Euronav tankers being fitted with a scrubber this year. Image Credit: Euronav

The opposition to scrubbers from tanker company Euronav, one of the earliest prominent critics of the technology, appears to be firmly on the decline as the company scheduled retrofits of the systems on board four of its tankers this year.

Four Euronav tankers -- the Ilma, the Ingrid, the Iris and the Alsace -- were booked in for scrubber retrofits in the first quarter of 2022, the company said in its 2021 annual report this week.

On the newbuilding side Euronav also has a range of scrubber-equipped vessels being delivered, with the following details noted in the report:

• 4 VLCCs owned delivered in Q1 2021
• 2 Suezmax TC in Q4 2020
• 2 Suezmax for delivery Q1 2022
• Option for scrubber on 3 newbuilding Suezmaxes, delivery in Q4 2023 and Q1 2024
• 3 VLCCs for delivery Q1 2023

The plans appear to mark a significant turnaround from Euronav's previous opposition to scrubbers in the run-up to IMO 2020.

Former CEO Paddy Rodgers had branded it a 'mistake' for the International Maritime Organization to allow the use of scrubbers, and in late 2018 under his leadership the company was questioning the potential returns from investments in the technology and criticising its environmental shortcomings.

The comments reverberated around the industry and, particularly after a high-profile Bloomberg TV interview, prompted several subsequent stories in the financial press that questioned whether the shipping industry would give up on scrubbers as an idea.

Rodgers left the company in 2019, and the firm has since taken a more nuanced line on scrubbers after the arrival of his successor, Hugo De Stoop.

But the company's comments on scrubbers in its annual report this week were not unreservedly supportive.

"With the exception of four VLCC vessels and four Suezmax vessels, none of our vessels are equipped with scrubbers and as of January 1, 2020 we have transitioned to burning IMO-compliant fuels," Euronav said in its report.

"We continue to evaluate different options in complying with IMO and other rules and regulations and continue to work closely with suppliers and producers of both scrubbers and alternative mechanisms."