IMO 2020 marine fuel regulations result in “very long waiting lists at some shipyards,”, especially in China, for scrubber installation on ship vehicles. The thing is that wet air scrubbers are made to order, and their manufacture generally takes about six months. After the creation, the wet scrubbers are held by shipyards, where queues for installation have now built up.
It should be noted that even if the capacity of manufacturers of scrubber systems allows making the equipment with short lead times, the main problem of the availability at the shipyards remains unsolved. According to the International Maritime Organization, the main purpose of the IMO 2020 fuel regulations is the reduction of air pollution emissions and ocean pollution in order to provide air pollution control.
The air pollution control intends limits of sulfur levels in bunker fuels to 0.5% from the previous standard level of 3.5%, and it is regarded as the biggest regulatory change of the shipping industry in decades. Herewith, wet air scrubbers enable shipowners to “continue to buy cheaper high-sulfur fuel and separate the excess sulfur onboard the vessel in what is effectively a mini refinery”. The other possible solution instead of scrubber use is just to buy higher-cost low-sulfur fuel.
Although the IMO first announcement about the sulfur cap was in 2008, the manufacturers of scrubber systems confirmed that they began to receive scrubber orders just in 2017 for newbuilds and in 2018 for installation on existing ship vehicles, which has led to a flurry of orders in the run-up to the deadline. The thing is that the shipowners, like everyone else, wouldn’t like to spend money until they have to. Nowadays air treatment systems such as wet air scrubbers are considered to be obligatory because the vessels are required to be fuel-compliant.
According to estimations, about 3.000 – 4.000 ship vehicles have already ordered scrubber systems, comprising orders already processed, however, it is only 10 % of the applicable fleet of some 40,000 heavier ships worldwide that would usually employ high-sulfur fuel. Herewith, the installation of wet air scrubbers generally takes only 15-30 days on a ship, though it depends on the vessel size, for instance, a large cruise ship may take longer.
Finally, the installation cost of wet scrubbers could achieve $1 million and $5 million depending on the vessel, herein, the solution remains a viable option. Also, it should be noted that the open-loop type of scrubber systems emits sulfur exhaust that they treat in ships back into the sea and are thus more harmful than closed-loop wet scrubbers.
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