Mutual insurers are holding their breath during the early weeks of IMO 2020 regulations, as fuel compliance, scrubber performance and wash water issues present a whole new series of liability risks.
Despite numerous tales of scrubber installation delays shipyard ASRY in Bahrain says it has retrofitted an exhaust gas cleaning system to a VLCC in 33 days.
The global container shipping fleet is expected to grow 3.5% in 2020 to hit 24.05m teu according to analyst Alphaliner.
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has clarified its position on the use of open-loop scrubbers whilst transiting the waterway to comply with the new IMO 2020 regulation.
The Chinese authorities have caught two vessels for low sulphur fuel violations, the first reported cases of breaches of IMO 2020.
German carrier Hapag-Lloyd is expecting to incur additional operating costs of around $1bn a year starting 2020 due to the new IMO 2020 global regulation, according to ceo Rolf Habben Jansen.
Shipowner Safe Bulkers has entered into a service agreement with Alfa Laval for 20 scrubber units on its vessels to meet the requirements of IMO 2020.