The use of scrubbers will not last for more than ten years because the high acidity of the wash-water is a challenge for the integrity of the installation, Dragos Rauta, Technical Director at Intertanko, said in a report.
Rauta pointed out that even with less than eighteen months to go before the new sulphur cap is enforced, there are still not many viable solutions for the long-run.
“Other than clean fuel, I do not see many other potential long-term solutions that the industry can implement for the sulphur cap. Most of the solutions can work in the short-run but will not be sustainable,” he said.
“As such, it is clear that the industry still needs that silver bullet solution to comply with the 2020 Sulphur Cap – a solution that is both viable and sustainable keeping also in mind the forthcoming developments on greenhouse gas emissions reduction from international shipping,” Rauta added.
In a Sea Asia industry insights report entitled ‘2020 Sulphur Cap: Is the industry ready for the long-run?’, Rauta and other industry experts explore the long-term viability of the three main solutions that industry players are mulling over ahead of the new enforcement – installing scrubbers, switching to low-sulphur fuel alternatives or running on liquefied natural gas (LNG).
According to Precious Shipping’s Managing Director, Khalid Hashim, it is important that while looking for the best solution to adhere to the new 2020 sulphur regulations, the industry looks beyond that.
“With the IMO already looking to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2050, there is an opportunity for the industry to go back to the drawing board and see if there are innovative solutions that can be implemented to move the industry towards a zero carbon future,” Hashim said.
The 2020 Sulphur Cap, which will be enforced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on January 1, 2020 , will ban ships trading outside of the sulphur Emission Control Areas (ECAs) from using marine fuels with a sulphur content higher than 0.5 percent.