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One third of ships will fit scrubbers, predicts Foreship

Written by Nick Blenkey
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Olli Somerkallio, Head of Machinery Department, Foreship Ltd

DECEMBER 18, 2017 — Shipowners weighing up their future marine fuel choices after the 2020 IMO 0.5% sulfur cap should also consider oil company expectations that up to 30% of commercial shipping will gravitate back to high sulfur fuel oil by 2030, according to Helsinki, Finland, headquartered naval architecture and engineering consultancy Foreship.

With just over 100 ships running on LNG today, the number in service is likely to be significantly below 500 by 2020. At the same time, while the 0.1% fuel sulfur content limit inside emissions control areas has brought 1,500 scrubber installations, shipyard capacity considerations could see that number grow to only 3,000-4,000 by the 2020 deadline.

Most ships will run on 0.5% sulfur content HFO to meet the cap.

Foreship Head of Machinery Department, Olli Somerkallio explains that, post 2020, 0.5% sulfur content fuel will be blended from distillates and HFO of up to 2.5% sulfur content. Higher sulfur HFO (HSHFO) can be used as a marine fuel where scrubbers are installed, but could also be a substitute fuel in gas power plants in former Soviet countries, or a coal substitute. This will change the pricing dynamic of HSHFO: to compete with coal, prices would have to be relatively low.

The implication is that HSHFO will return to favor as a marine fuel after the dust settles.

“This will have a significant impact on the ROI of scrubbers in the future,” says Somerkallio.

Foreship has significant experience in offering independent advice on adapting ships for new marine fuels and emissions abatement. Its reference list includes 34 exhaust gas scrubber retrofit projects to enable 13 cruise ships, 11 RoPax ferries, nine RO/ROs and one containership to burn HFO in ECAs.

Its work includes conceptual design, technology and supplier evaluation, installation feasibility, the classification and basic design work needed for system integration, plus mechanical, piping, electrical systems and automation. Foreship also covers engineering and structural design for equipment foundations and new tanks, as well as safety plans and stability updates, supervising detail design and installation during systems integration.

Foreship has advised customers to select multi-stream or in-line scrubbers, open loop, closed loop or hybrid systems. The high opportunity cost of losing sailing time in the cruise market has seen work planned underway, as well as for RO/RO ship projects work carried outindock.

“We have faced and overcome a broad range of installation challenges, including the fact that scrubbers eat into the revenue-earning space required for passengers or freight,” says Somerkallio. “We are also very familiar with the equipment options in the market and supplier references.”

As well as needing new pumping, water treatment and tank storage equipment, exhaust gas scrubbers demand considerable new pipework on board. Installing inline means that existing silencers need to be replaced with larger equipment, causing a space challengeforcasing.

“Gaining this experience provides a wealth of independent experience that owners of cargo ships can draw on as the 2020 global sulfur cap approaches,” says Somerkallio. “The track record is also long enough to understand that ships within the same project do not always benefit from the same equipment selection.

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