OSM’s press release says that it is now offering its customers, assistance in exhaust gas scrubber retrofit process.
Inescapable IMO 2020 sulphur cap
As pressure mounts to comply with the fast-approaching IMO 2020 sulphur cap, OSM is now offering its customers assistance in every step of the exhaust gas scrubber retrofit process, building on decades of holistic ship management experience.
“The IMO 2020 compliance deadline is coming fast, but the industry is still quite indecisive on which measures to take,” says OSM’s Project Engineer Ilias Soultanias.
“As more owners and operators opt for scrubbers, it becomes more challenging to investigate options and secure equipment, book dry-docking slots and plan for the overall project. OSM’s wide cooperation network gives us access to system manufacturers and engineering resources, ensuring timely and high-quality delivery of projects.”
Compliant fuel’s availability and cost
The IMO sulphur requirement targets fuel composition, but compliant fuels are either not widely available yet or quite costly. Scrubbing technology offers an option to comply by post-processing exhaust emissions using seawater to neutralize the emissions and clean them of sulphur oxides.
OSM’s perspective is that the main advantage of using scrubbers as a compliance method is the continuous use of widely available and economical fuels instead of the compliant ones.
Scrubber investments
All vessels are targeted in the new requirement, so means of compliance is a major decision that all owners have to make.
Since fuel is often the responsibility of the charterer, it may also be in a charterer’s interest to support an investment in scrubbers, especially for time charters.
OSM open to assist in retrofits
Soultanias says, in any case, OSM’s team is ready to support any stakeholder requiring assistance and guidance through the solution selection and implementation:
“There are several stages in this complex process, from choosing the compliance method to verifying the installation with class. Since there are many stakeholders involved and there is a time constraint, an owner may have already taken some decisions and require assistance only in certain parts of the process, and OSM can support them in any step as required.”
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Source: OSM Maritime Group
