Greek dry bulk shipping firm Star Bulk Carriers has earned back its $250 million investment in exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers), within a span of 2.5 years, the company said.
The bulker owner has been a staunch supporter of scrubbers as a means of meeting the IMO 2020 sulphur cap and had a fleet of 114 bulkers fitted with scrubbers already in 2020.
The company explained that the investment included all related capital expenditure as well as the off-hire cost to install the scrubbers.
“With our fleet (128 owned vessels) being ~94 % scrubber fitted and the current Hi5 spread at very healthy le vels, these scrubbers should augment our profitability for the foreseeable future, ” Petros Pappas , Chief Executive Officer of Star Bulk, commented.
Scrubbers have been a popular solution among owners due to their capability to bring premiums to owners who continued burning high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) against very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO).
“With a limited supply of vessels, the upcoming environmental regulations curbing vessel ordering and speeds, our competitive operating costs and our scrubber-equipped fleet, we remain optimistic on the income earning prospects of our company despite a seemingly uncertain macroeconomic environment,” he said.
The company reported a strong performance in the second quarter of 2020 having earned a net income of $ 200 million, compared to a net income for the second quarter of 2021 of $124.2 million.
Star Bulk added that its Board of Directors has established an ESG Committee, which will guide and support management on ESG-related matters.
To remind, earlier this year Star Bulk joined a landmark initiative that aims to create the first of its kind green corridor between Australia and East Asia for shipping iron ore.
The initiative was launched by a consortium led by the Global Maritime Forum. The consortium also includes British-Australian resources company BHP, Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto and German dry bulk shipping company Oldendorff Carriers.