Connect with us

Business

Gibson: Debating scrubber economics amid narrowing bunker fuel spread

Despite adverse market conditions Gibson foresees other shipowners postponing scrubber installations rather than outright cancellations on possible increase in oil prices.

Admin

Published

on

Screen Shot 2020 05 19 at 1.23.22 PM

International shipping broker EA Gibson Shipbrokers Ltd.on Monday (18 May) published a report analysing the impact of the collapse in oil prices on the scrubber technology market and forecasting possible strategies adopted by shipowners: 

In recent weeks, several publicly listed tanker companies announced their decisions to postpone scrubber installations. During the release of their 1st quarter financial results, DHT Holdings said it would postpone installation of five scrubbers, citing strong market conditions as the reason. A similar statement was made by International Seaways. According to Platts, the company has postponed three planned installations to coincide with scheduled dry docking in 2021. Finally, Scorpio Tankers said it will delay the installation of nineteen scrubber retrofits until at least 2021, while Scorpio Bulkers announced its decision to delay the installation of thirteen scrubbers. These developments follow several scrubber cancellations (by independent owners) scheduled to take place in the 4th quarter of last year, with owners instead opting to take advantage of the strong tanker market at the time. 

However, there has been no mention of a dramatic decline in bunker prices and lower spreads between very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) in recent public statements. The Covid-19 driven collapse in oil demand saw the differential between the two bunker fuels fall as low as $50-$60/tonne in April and April, compared to around $275-$300/tonne spread back in January 2020. As a result, the premium in spot earnings for scrubber equipped vessels declined substantially. Using TD3C as a guide, scrubber equipped VLCCs on average earned just $4,000/day more in April than tankers without scrubbers. This is compared to a premium of $16,000/day just a few months ago. 

Due to these adverse market conditions, it is not surprising that there has been considerably less appetite for new scrubber installations. Wartsila announced a decline in new marine orders, largely due to a lack of scrubber investments. A similar trend has been confirmed by the classification society DNV GL, which also reported a slowdown in scrubber orders during the 1st three months of the year. 

The economics of a scrubber retrofit have certainly been impacted by narrower spreads. At a $60/tonne differential between the two bunker fuels, the repayment period of an investment in an open loop VLCC scrubber retrofit is expected to be somewhere between 3 to 4 years, depending on the fuel efficiency of a tanker. The repayment period is shorter if the technology is installed on a newbuild due to lower installation costs and no offhire time. However, even here it would still take somewhere between 18 to 26 months to repay the investment. 

Yet, the picture could change again in the future. Oil prices are expected to rebound once the world recovers from Covid-19, whilst OPEC+ is likely to continue its efforts to support oil prices. Further down the line, the upward pressure on oil prices could also intensify due to the major reductions in CAPEX by oil companies seen at present. With this in mind, investment in exhaust gas cleaning technology could come back on the agenda. Expectation of higher prices in years to come is perhaps one of the reasons why delays to scrubber installations and not outright cancellations are currently the preferred strategy of tanker owners.

The full report is available for download here.


Photo credit: EA Gibson Shipbrokers Ltd.
Published: 19 May, 2020

 

Continue Reading

Winding up

Singapore: Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be wound up voluntarily, creditors to submit claims

Creditors of Da Zhong Tankers and Xin Ying Shipping are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to appointed liquidators, says notice.

Admin

Published

on

By

steve pb from Pixabay

Xihe Holdings Pte Ltd subsidiaries Da Zhong Tankers Pte Ltd and Xin Ying Shipping Pte Ltd will voluntarily wind up following resolutions that were passed by written means, according to a Government Gazette notice published on Thursday (18 June).

The resolutions set out below were duly passed:

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – WINDING-UP

That the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.

  • ORDINARY RESOLUTION – APPOINTMENT OF LIQUIDATORS

That Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia and Ho May Kee of Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960 be and are hereby appointed as joint and several liquidators to conduct the said winding-up and that their remuneration be fixed on the usual scale of their professional charges for the work involved.

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – POWERS OF LIQUIDATORS

That the liquidators of the Company be authorised to exercise any of their powers given by section 177, 144 (1) and (2) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 and to distribute to members, in specie, any part of the assets of the Company.

In another notice, the liquidator of the company said creditors are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses with particulars of their solicitors (if any) to liquidator Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia at Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960. 

The liquidator may require creditors or their solicitors to “come in and prove their said debts or claims at such time and place as shall be specified in such notice or in default thereof, they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts are proved.”

Related: Singapore: Additional Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be placed under judicial management

 

Photo credit: steve pb from Pixabay
Published: 19 June, 2026

Continue Reading

Winding up

Singapore: Liquidator of Parakou Shipping issues notice of dividend

Second and final dividend to admitted creditors of Parakou Shipping is payable by 14 July, according to Government Gazette notice.

Admin

Published

on

By

Resized benjamin child

A notice of dividend for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd, which is currently in voluntary liquidation, was published on the Government Gazette on Thursday (18 June). 

The following are the details of the notice:

Name of Company : Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Address of Registered Office : c/o KordaMentha, 50 Raffles Place, 25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623
Amount per centum : 0.55 per centum of admitted claims (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
First and Final or otherwise : Second and Final Dividend to admitted creditors (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
When payable : By 14 July 2026
Where payable : c/o KordaMentha Pte Ltd, 50 Raffles Place, #25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623

Related: Singapore: Notice of intended dividend issued for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 19 June, 2026

Continue Reading

Alternative Fuels

MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.

Admin

Published

on

By

MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) on Thursday (18 July) said it has signed new supply agreements in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean region to expand the use of bio-LNG marine fuel on MOL-operated LNG-fuelled car carriers.

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.

MOL said the agreement makes it possible for its company to supply bio-LNG fuel for automobile carriers in the Mediterranean region, specifically Port of Malaga and Barcelona in Spain, following the bio-LNG fuel supply agreement in Western Europe, which commenced in March last year.

The bio-LNG fuel to be supplied in this initiative has a lifecycle carbon intensity (carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy consumption) of -15 g-CO2/MJ or less, from production through consumption. Furthermore, this bio-LNG fuel has obtained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC-EU). 

“Through this supply agreement, MOL has established a framework that ensures a continuous and stable supply of bio-LNG fuel not only in Northern Europe but also in the Mediterranean,” the company said.

As part of the group’s efforts to adopt alternative fuels and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it is utilising LNG-fuelled vessels as a bridge solution to facilitate the transition to carbon-neutral fuels such as bio-LNG and synthetic LNG (e-methane).

In 2025, MOL signed a bio LNG fuel supply agreement in Northwest Europe with Titan, part of the Molgas, and MOL has continued this bio LNG fuel supply agreement with the same company in 2026 as well.

 

Photo credit: Mitsui OSK Lines
Published: 19 June, 2026

Continue Reading

Trending