China virus may cause delays of anti-pollution equipment retrofits…

Malaysia, Singapore and Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, all marine refueling hubs, have banned the use of open-loop scrubbers. China is also set to extend a ban on scrubber discharge to more coastal regions.

The IMO said it does not have a remit to regulate the fuel industry but that international standards for the new fuel and information about compatibility between types had been issued as part of comprehensive preparations.

A circular note date Jan. 7 and sent on Wednesday to Reuters from Pakistan´s ports and shipping ministry said the discharge of washwater from open-loop scrubbers was prohibited in Pakistani port environs.

Around 172 ships have avoided the problem because they are powered by sulphur-free liquefied natural gas (LNG), data from Norwegian risk management and certification company DNV GL showed, but this in an expensive option.

SINGAPORE, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Asia’s spot premium for 380-centistoke (cst) high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) is expected to ease gradually from its recent record highs as shippers adopt cleaner marine fuels next year to meet new, tougher rules on emissions from ships.

But some ports have banned one type of scrubber, the open-loop version which empties washwater residues into the sea, which has added to unexpected costs for shipping companies that have bought the devices at a cost of over $1 million each.

But as the deadline approaches, analysts and traders agree that demand for the dirtier HSFO will not die out completely as an increasing number of ships get equipped with sulphur-cleaning devices in the coming years to combat pollution.

“There’s been body scrubber with handle investment … that’s the proportion of folks that will continue to use high-sulphur fuel oil although we see a significant reduction in demand in the short run,” Sharon Weintraub, Chief Executive Officer for Supply and Trading, Eastern Hemisphere at BP told Reuters.

ISLAMABAD, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Pakistan has prohibited the use of open-loop scrubbers by ships in its waters, the latest country to tighten restrictions on the use of the cleaning devices which strip sulphur from marine fuel and empty the residue in the sea, a regulatory note showed.

A Chinese international trade promotion agency said it would offer force majeure certificates to companies struggling to cope with the impact of the new epidemic on their business with overseas partners.

Five trade sources said the spread of coronavirus in China had exacerbated a slowdown in demand for marine fuels, also known as bunkers, that is typical of the period around the Lunar New Year holiday, extended this year to fight the disease.

“But, we expect that over time there will be more scrubber investment actually beyond 2020 – into the 2020-2024 range – we would see perhaps that demand growing back for high-sulphur fuel oil versus the short-term shift to very low-sulphur fuel oil.”

Front-month backwardation in the VLSFO market fell from a record $22 a tonne on Jan. 20 to $2 a tonne this week while its refining margin fell to 2-1/2 month low of $16.35 a barrel above Brent crude, down from a record $29.35 at the start of 2020, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

Khalid Hashim, managing director of one of Thailand´s largest dry cargo ship owners, Precious Shipping, said it had not allowed co-mingling of marine fuel, also known as bunker fuel, for over five years and required all of it to be sample tested.

Since the start of this year, United Nations shipping agency the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has banned ships from using fuels with a sulphur content above 0.5%, compared with 3.5% previously, in the biggest shake up for the oil and shipping industries in decades.

“Of course this costs us annually around $100,000, but we prefer that cost than to use untested bunker oil based solely on the Bunker Delivery Receipt and find that we have a massive problem on our ship,” he said.

TOKYO/SINGAPORE, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Shipping companies may face delivery delays of vessels fitted with exhaust gas filtering equipment that complies with anti-pollution rules that kicked in this year due to the impact from the virus outbreak in China, shipping sources said on Friday.

SINGAPORE, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Asia’s market for very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) has retreated from its record highs near the start of the year, as demand crumbles under seasonal factors and an epidemic in China, while supply expectations improve, analysts and traders said.

To reduce emissions of toxic sulphur that cause premature deaths, shipowners who have long relied on the dirtiest residues of oil extraction will have to either switch to low-sulphur fuel or install exhaust gas cleaning systems from Jan. 1.

“Ships in drydock are reportedly lying idle without any work being carried out,” said a Singapore-based shipbroker adding that in some cases even provisions cannot be supplied to crews onboard ships in drydock.

A Mitsui OSK Lines executive said many vessels were in Chinese docks to get so-called scrubbers installed to meet the new emissions rules but with four Chinese provinces asking companies to extend the Lunar New Year holiday by a week, to Feb.