TEN per cent of the world's
containership fleet will be fitted with scrubbers by January 2020 when
the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) 0.5 per cent sulphur cap
for marine fuel comes into effect.
Scrubber fitted box ships will account
for 5.9 per cent of the total number of containerships or 11.8 per cent
of the total fleet capacity by early 2020, reported Seatrade Maritime
News, Colchester, UK.
As of December 10, the number of box ships fitted with scrubbers reached
212 units for 1.79 million TEU, with a further 101 units currently at
repair yards undergoing retrofits, according to Alphaliner.
"More scrubber fitted containerships are expected to be delivered in the
next two years, including both newbuildings and retrofitted units, that
could possibly bring their total number to some 1,000 ships for 10
million TEU by the end of 2022," Alphaliner stated.
The high take-up rate for scrubbers reflects the attractive economics
for these ships with the current price spread for low sulphur fuel oil
(LSFO) over heavy fuel oil (HFO) already at US$250 per tonne, which
would provide operators of these ships with substantial savings compared
to conventional units that would need to switch to 0.5 per cent sulphur
fuel.
"However, the long line of containerships waiting to enter repair yards
for the installation of scrubbers, coupled with extended yard stays are
costing carriers dearly in vessel downtime. For the larger ships, the
cost of the downtime could be as much as $30,000 to $50,000 per day,"
the analyst observed.
The average yard stay for ships undergoing retrofits in 2019 reached 59
days, with 17 per cent of these ships taking longer than 80 days to
complete their retrofits.
"MSC has been the most badly affected by these delays, with at least 15
of its ships clocking yard stays of over 80 days. The yard delays are
also causing severe congestion with at least five MSC ships currently
waiting for up to eight weeks to enter the repair yards, with shipyards
in the Zhoushan region in China especially congested in the last two
months," Alphaliner said.
To-date, MSC has confirmed orders for some 250 scrubbers of which 49 units have been
delivered with a further 31 retrofit installations currently in
progress.
"These ships will be able to enjoy the lower price of standard heavy
fuel oil, with current IFO380 bunker price dropping to just $255 per
tonne compared to LSFO price of over $510 per tonne (based on Rotterdam
prices)," Alphaliner stated.
Meanwhile, smaller box ships of under 3,000 TEU in capacity have failed
to reap any benefits from the scrubber movement, as this market segment
continues to be affected by chronic overcapacity.
Only 13 ships of 1,000-2,000 TEU, for instance, have been retrofitted
this year, representing one per cent of this size range while a meagre
four units are currently in yards for scrubbers.
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