Wartsila “well positioned” for global sulfur cap

Written by Nick Blenkey
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OCTOBER 31, 2016 — Wärtsilä says it is well positioned to help companies meet the global cap that will limit the sulfur content of marine fuels to 0.5% effective from January 2020. That implementation date was agreed at last week’s meeting of IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC).

Wärtsilä’s proactive development of exhaust gas cleaning (EGC) systems, or scrubbers, together with its broad offering in gas and dual-fuel engine technologies, means that it is well placed to assist fleet owners around the world to implement plans for compliance that lessen their dependence on expensive low sulfur fuel that is likely to be in extremely short suppy.

Wärtsilä was the first manufacturer to have been awarded IMO certification for exhaust gas cleaning systems by the classification societies Det Norske Veritas, Germanischer Lloyd, and Bureau Veritas.

Subsequently, the company has actively developed the technology, the capacity, and its network to overcome the challenges faced by owners and operators in meeting the global sulfur cap regulations.

Recently, the Singapore flag state authorities approved Wärtsilä’s EGC systems, the first such approval by an Asian flag authority. This approval by Singapore makes it applicable to all Asian flag states.

Wärtsilä was also the first company to introduce dual-fuel engines to the shipping sector, allowing the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel. Since LNG contains no sulfur, there is an increasing trend towards the use of LNG fuel as a viable means of complying with the sulfur cap requirements.

“In addition to its well-known offering in dual-fuel engines and LNG handling systems, Wärtsilä also has a portfolio of the most flexible EGC systems. Our open-loop water cleaning system is the most environmentally sound solution on the market. We can customise and optimise our systems to meet specific customer requirements, while offering support during each phase of the project from feasibility studies to commissioning, and then on to lifecycle service support,” says Roger Holm, President, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.

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