Russian oil and gas firm Gazprom Neft is increasing its production of IMO 2020 compliant very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) at its Omsk Refinery following upgrading works at the refinery.
In June the shipping world will in it sixth month of grappling with new environmental regulations and Posidonia 2020 shipping exhibition will be the ideal place to assess the impact low sulphur regulations implementation have had.
Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp announced that it has completed its IMO 2020 compliance plan with the installation of scrubbers on five capesize vessels, or 50% of its owned fleet.
While the economics of scrubbers have proved to be extremely healthy in the first month of IMO 2020 the price and supply picture for heavy fuel oil (HFO) could become more uncertain over time according to leading bunker supplier Monjasa.
DHT Holdings has saved $14.6m in bunkering from fitting scrubbers on 12 of its vessels to comply with IMO 2020, but six more retrofits face delays of an uncertain length due to the impact of the coronavirus on Chinese yards.
India has exempted import tax on very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) as the country struggles with insufficient availability since the implementation of IMO 2020.
Ship operators still carrying high sulphur fuel on their vessels should start to plan for debunkering now, advises maritime law specialist Hill Dickinson.
As questions are raised about the environmental impact of very low sulphur fuels that comply with the IMO 2020 regulation some Greek shipping executives believe that LNG or even nuclear power would be a cleaner option for the future.
Nearly a month into IMO 2020 and tales of lengthy bunkering delays, fuel quality problems, debunkering, and uneven enforcement are emerging after what appeared to be a smooth transition.
