Business

Argus Media: Wartsila flags up 2019 scrubber demand slowdown

Scrubber sales in 2019 down by 11% compared to 2018 as shipowners gauge whether scrubber investments are justified vis a vis fuel prices.

Published

6 years ago

February 3, 2020

Admin

Erik Hoffman of global energy and price reporting agency Argus Media on Friday (31 January) issued a report by Wartsila that said scrubber sales have diminished in 2019 and 2020 compared to the boom of 2018 due to uncertain fuel prices:

Finnish marine technology firm Wartsila said it received fewer orders for exhaust gas scrubbers last year than in 2018, as shipowners postponed decisions to invest in the technology to later this year.

Scrubbers allow ships to keep burning 3.5pc sulphur fuel oil without falling foul of the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) new 0.5pc sulphur cap, which came into effect on 1 January.

Fuel price spreads were “supportive of investments” in scrubbers last year, but a lack of shipyard capacity to install them and uncertainty around the availability of high-sulphur fuels at various ports have delayed investment decisions, Wartsila said.

Wartsila is the world’s biggest scrubber manufacturer. Its order intake for marine equipment and services shrunk by 11pc in 2019 compared with 2018, when scrubber manufacturers received a flurry of orders during the summer.

“Demand for scrubbers declined from exceptionally high levels in the previous year, as a result of uncertainty related to the price and availability of bunker fuels,” Wartsila chief executive Jaako Eskola said.

Shipowners were waiting until the first quarter of 2020 to gauge whether the fuel price spreads would warrant scrubber investments, Wartsila said, reiterating an observation it made last year.

The price spreads between low-sulphur and high-sulphur marine fuels have been volatile across major bunkering hubs in recent months, spiking at the end of last year as shipowners rushed to bunker IMO-compliant fuel before the sulphur cap deadline.

In Fujairah, the price of 0.1pc sulphur marine gasoil (MGO) peaked at a $540/t premium over 3.5pc fuel oil on 24 December and fell to a low of $384/t yesterday. The premium of 0.5pc sulphur fuel oil over 3.5pc fuel oil rose to a high of $497.50/t on 30 December before dropping to $273.50/t yesterday.

The price spreads have been particularly wide in Fujairah, which is naturally long on 3.5pc fuel oil compared with Singapore and Rotterdam. In Singapore, the premiums for MGO and 0.5pc fuel oil over 3.5pc fuel oil reached highs of $371.50/t and $370.50/t on 2 January, respectively, before falling to $234/t and $231/t yesterday. In Rotterdam, the premiums of MGO and 0.5pc fuel oil peaked at $329/t and $309.50/t on 30 December, and had fallen to $198/t and $183/t by yesterday.

Lack of shipyard space for scrubber retrofits pushed installation times to over six weeks in December. This — combined with high freight rates at the end of last year — prompted shipowner DHT to postpone scrubber retrofits on six of its very large crude carriers (VLCCs). The firm currently has 12 ships with scrubbers in operation.

Several European bunker suppliers stopped offering 3.5pc fuel oil in the weeks leading up to 1 January in order to free up more storage and barge tank space for 0.5pc fuel oil. At least two suppliers in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub stopped offering 3.5pc fuel oil, one in Skaw, one in Las Palmas, two in the Gibraltar Strait ports, two in Malta, two in Piraeus and one in Istanbul. Other suppliers in these ports have converted most of their barge tanks to hold low-sulphur fuels.

A large number of vessels are currently out of operation for scrubber installations. When these vessels hit the water again, demand for high-sulphur fuel oil is set to rise.

Some suppliers will reassess demand for 3.5pc fuel oil in mid-February to determine whether or not “to dirty up” their bunker barge tanks again to accommodate high-sulphur fuel. Around 3,800 vessels will have scrubbers in operation and on order by the end of 2020, up from 3,000 in 2019, according to shipping classification body DNV GL.

Source: Argus Media
Published: 3 February, 2020

Legal

Singapore withdraws remaining 127 charges against Hin Leong founder OK Lim

Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges on 17 July.

Published

15 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

Founder of collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, has had the remaining 127 charges against him withdrawn, according to The Straits Times on Monday (20 July).

OK Lim was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges, including those for cheating, on 17 July. The discharge means Lim cannot be prosecuted again for the same offences.

Lim, 84, is currently serving a 13½-year prison sentence after the High Court reduced his original 17½-year jail term in March 2026. He was convicted in 2024 on two cheating charges and one count of abetting forgery in a case prosecutors described as one of Singapore’s most serious trade finance frauds.

Lim was convicted in May 2024 of two charges of cheating the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of abetting forgery that proceeded to trial out of a total of 130 criminal charges.

He was first charged in court on 14 August 2020, and was subsequently handed further charges in court on 25 September 2020, 30 April 2021 and 24 June 2021 for his role in perpetuating fraud on various financial institutions.

A total of 130 charges were eventually brought against him for cheating and forgery-related offences.

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

Winding up

Singapore: Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd to be wound up voluntarily

Coastal Logistics was reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

Published

15 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

Several resolutions for Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd were made during an extraordinary general meeting held on 14 July, according to a notice in the Government Gazette on Friday (4 July).

The following resolutions were duly passed during the meeting:

As Special Resolution

That it has been proved to the satisfaction of the meeting that the Company cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business and accordingly the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to Section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (No. 40 of 2018);

As Ordinary Resolutions

that Mr. Wong Pheng Cheong Martin and Ms. Koay May Yee, both care of FTI Consulting (Singapore) Pte Ltd, One Raffles Quay, #27-10 South Tower, Singapore 048583 be appointed as the joint and several Liquidators of the Company for the purpose of such winding up; and
that the Liquidators be at liberty to open, maintain and operate any bank account(s) or account(s) for monies received by them as Liquidators with such bank(s) as they deem fit; and
that a Committee of Inspection will not be formed.

Manifold Times previously reported Nicholas James Gronow, director of Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping and Coastal Logistics, filed statutory declarations for both companies stating the firms cannot continue their businesses due to liabilities.

Both companies were reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

In 2019, several vessels owned by both firms entered the sale & purchase (S&P) market in Singapore.

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

LNG Bunkering

PIL’s LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on LNG and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Published

15 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

PIL's LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

Singapore-based Pacific International Lines Pte Ltd on Monday (20 July) said its first 13,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessel, Kota Elok, recently made her maiden call to Singapore on 15 July.

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

The vessel also incorporated energy-saving features and digital technologies to reduce fuel consumption and enhance operational performance, as well as a bow windshield to improve aerodynamics, contributing to improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions over the course of long-haul voyages.

“Following Singapore, Kota Elok will continue her voyage on our East Coast Service 1 (ES1) route to South America, calling at ports in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina before returning to Asia,” the company said in a social media post.

Kota Elok also became PIL’s first vessel to receive Lloyd’s Register certification for compliance with the IACS UR E26 and UR E27 cyber security requirements.

Developed by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), UR E26 and UR E27 are mandatory cyber resilience requirements for newbuild vessels contracted from 1 July 2024.

Photo credit: Pacific International Lines
Published: 21 July, 2026