Euroseas to use low sulphur fuel to comply with IMO 2020

In its full year results call Euroseas said it was eschewing fitting scrubbers to meet the demands of the sulphur cap and will use compliant low sulphur fuels.

Not getting involved in the scrubber debate Aristides Pittas, chairman and ceo of Euroseas said: “I will not dwell on this pros and cons of putting scrubbers on vessels here as this method has been exhaustively discussed within the industry. Suffice it to say that together with 95% and more of the vessel owners, we will not install scrubbers on our vessels and will burn fully compliant fuels, thus also helping to protect the environment beyond any doubt.”

As vessels are taken out the market for scrubber installations and there is the possibility of higher fuel prices, Pittas saw some potential for an improvement in the market. “Environmental regulations coming into effect in 2020 create additional uncertainty as ships will be taken out of service to install scrubbers already in 2019 and the probable increase in low sulphur fuel prices can result in further slow-steaming, which in turn could help strengthen the market,” he said.

There are also some opportunities seen to acquire lower priced assets. “If the current weak sentiment continues for a bit, it could create opportunities to further grow the company by buying more cheap assets,” Pittas added.

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