According to a Riviera Maritime Media article, H2 2019 will see a rush of tankers squeezing in Eco retrofits before the IMO 2020 deadline.
Status of scrubbers
The tanker fleet could lose up to 10M dwt in capacity in the later stages of 2019 from vessels entering drydock for Eco retrofits, according to one of the conclusions from Clarkson Research Services’ (CRS) Shipping Intelligence Weekly.
The latest publication looks at the status of scrubbers across the whole of the shipping fleet.
It is now estimated that up to 4,000 vessels of all types will have scrubbers fitted by the end of 2020. This is a considerable increase from the first estimates of around 400 vessels by the end of 2020 first given in 2018.
Impact on capacity
The impact on capacity has also ramped up and in recent weeks it seems off-hire time is largest in the crude tanker fleet: 10M dwt and approaching 2.5% of the fleet.
Although there is a slightly wider range of shipyards undertaking Eco retrofits in the tanker sector, CRS notes that Chinese shipyards continue to dominate. Chinese shipyards occupy the first 14 slots of most popular locations to undertake retrofits, with Turkey and Singapore occupying the 15th and 16th positions.
Other issues mentioned
Shipowners and operators speaking at various events across London International Shipping Week (LISW) gave glimpses into some of the issues.
Star Bulk Carriers Corp president Hamish Norton told attendees of Bloomberg’s LISW event ’Navigating through IMO 2020 amid slowing growth’ that on a recent visit to shipyards in China he saw vessels waiting three- or four-deep at pierheads for their drydock slots.
Euronav’s chief executive Hugo de Stoop noted in its conference call on IMO 2020 strategy that it had been offered drydocking slots for December 2019.
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Source: Riviera Maritime Media
