French ferry operator Brittany Ferries has cancelled plans to convert several of its vessels to LNG, also binning the order placed at STX France shipyard for an LNG fueled ROpax ferry, deciding instead to install scrubbers on the three ships originally marked for conversion, the company said in a release.
Brittany Ferries planned to spend £320 million (USD 509m) on the conversion project in order to meet the new EU regulations on sulphur emissions.
The company stated that the necessary conditions to implement the LNG switch had not been met, and that there seems to be no temporary exemptions for shipowners going through the switch to comply with the latest sulphur directive coming into force on January 1, 2015.
Jean Marc Roue, the company’s Supervisory Council President, said that the lack of exemptions would make it impossible for Brittany Ferries to stick to the conversion project, while at the same time paying tens of millions of dollars in added fuel costs.