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International Union of Marine Insurance: IMO 2020 – 100 days amidst the Pandemic

Issues faced by shipowners coming into 2020 have now been overshadowed by the pandemic but challenges remain on the full implementation of IMO 2020.
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International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI), in its June 2020 newsletter published an update on the maritime industry’s compliance with the IMO 2020 sulphur cap in light of the Covid-19 pandemic; it was written by Rama Chandran, Head of Marine for Singapore and Head of Hull & Marine Liability for Asia, QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd and IUMI Ocean Hull Committee Chair:

What was on the minds of all shipowners coming into 2020 has now been clearly overshadowed by the pandemic and its significant impact. However, challenges remain on the full implementations of IMO’s 2020 sulphur cap.

The next key regulatory milestone is the 2030 regulations where a reduction of 40% of carbon emissions is the current objective. It is widely expected that this threshold will be increased.

But for now, let’s look at where we are on the IMO 2020 implementation 100 days since coming into effect.

In the first quarter of 2020, the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) reported that most ships calling at the ports of Singapore have complied with the regulation.

It was further reported that based on the pre-arrival notification submitted to MPA, 96% of the ships calling at Singapore used compliant fuel. This excludes ships installed with open loop scrubbers that switch to using compliant fuel upon arriving at Singapore as the use of open loop scrubbers is prohibited in the port of Singapore (as well as in many other ports).

During this period, 326 Port State inspection and Flag State inspections were carried in the port of Singapore. Out of these, 12 ships were not fitted with scrubbers and had fuels marginally exceeding the sulphur limit. This was reported as likely due to remnant residues of high sulphur fuel in the fuel tanks and piping. It is expected in time, the fuel tanks and piping would be sufficiently flushed with the continued use of compliant fuel.

Among the small number of Singapore registered vessels fitted with scrubbers, 31 reports of scrubber malfunctions were noted as of 29 Feb 2020.

There were some incidents related to automation, corrosion, safety and monitoring on some of the scrubber incidents to date.

DNV GL reported close to 4,000 ships being fitted with scrubbers and more were scheduled to do so during the year due to the price difference between heavy fuel oil (HFO) and low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO). This spread has since reduced to significantly below USD $100 per metric tonne. This figure was generally used by the scrubber manufacturers in the rationale on economic viability.

With the pandemic, the installation timeline will be pushed back significantly. It is not clear if shipowners will cancel or delay further until there is some clarity with the potential future price difference between the two grades of fuel. The other factor for consideration is the availability of the HFO post pandemic.

On a final note, we are still monitoring the impact of low sulphur fuels on engine and if there is significant increase in machinery claims in the near future.


Photo credit:  Anne Nygård on Unsplash
Published: 21 July, 2020

 

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Winding up

Singapore: Liquidators of Nan Ho Maritime, Nan Xin Maritime issue notices of dividend

Nan Ho Maritime’s second interim dividend and Nan Xin Maritime’s second and final dividend are payable from 4 September, according to Government Gazette notices.
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September 7, 2026

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Notices of dividend for Nan Ho Maritime Pte Ltd and Nan Xin Maritime Pte Ltd, which are currently in creditors’ voluntary liquidation, were published on the Government Gazette on Friday (4 September). 

The following are the details of the notice for Nan Ho Maritime:

Name of Company : Nan Ho Maritime (Pte.) Ltd. (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Unique Entity No. / Registration No. : 200814315C
Address of Former Registered Office : 21 Bukit Batok Crescent, #22-70 WCEGA Tower, Singapore 658065
Amount per centum : 2.305 per centum of all admitted ordinary claims
First and Final or otherwise : Second interim dividend
When Payable : 4 September 2026 onwards
Where Payable : c/o AAG Corporate Advisory Pte. Ltd., 11 Collyer Quay, #07-02 The Arcade, Singapore 049317

The following are the details of the notice for Nan Xin Maritime:

Name of Company : Nan Xin Maritime (Pte.) Ltd. (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Unique Entity No. / Registration No. : 201701966W
Address of Former Registered Office : 21 Bukit Batok Crescent, #22-70 WCEGA Tower, Singapore 658065
Amount per centum : 3.980 per centum of all admitted ordinary claims
First and Final or otherwise : Second and final dividend
When Payable : 4th day of September 2026 onwards
Where Payable : c/o AAG Corporate Advisory Pte. Ltd., 11 Collyer Quay, #07-02 The Arcade, Singapore 049317

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 7 September, 2026

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LNG Bunkering

Singapore-based EPS takes delivery of three LNG dual-fuel bulk carriers

Three vessels are the third, fourth and fifth in the company’s series of 14 Newcastlemaxes being built at the yard, and were delivered five months ahead of their contracted delivery dates.
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Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) on Friday (4 September) announced the naming and delivery of three new LNG dual-fuel Newcastlemax bulk carriers from China’s Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding. 

Cyril Ducau, CEO of EPS, said the vessels were named Mount Victoria, Mount Yulong and Mount Wuyi. 

The three vessels are the third, fourth and fifth in the company’s series of 14 Newcastlemaxes being built at the yard, and were delivered five months ahead of their contracted delivery dates.

“A big thank you to CSSC Group and Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding, working alongside our EPS team, for the tremendous collaboration and commitment behind this achievement,” Ducau said in a social media post.  

 

Photo credit: Eastern Pacific Shipping
Published: 7 September, 2026

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Port & Regulatory

ISWG-GHG 22: IMO working group aims to present NZF text at MEPC 85

The Chair expressed his observation of a genuine willingness within the Group to make concrete further progress at the next ISWG-GHG meeting and work towards presenting text to MEPC 85.
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September 7, 2026

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The Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 22) met for its 22nd meeting from 1 to 4 September 2026, chaired by Mr. Sveinung Oftedal (Norway), according to the International Maritime Organization on Friday (4 September). 

According to a meeting summary by IMO, the meeting had a high level of participation, with nearly 1200 registered participants, in person and online.

During the meeting participants considered the following agenda items:

Consideration of proposals, including documents submitted to MEPC 84 and 85, previous sessions of ISWG-GHG, as well as documents submitted to ISWG-GHG 22, on how to address concerns with the draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI on the Net-Zero Framework, in line with the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy

Following constructive discussions, the Chair expressed his observation of a genuine willingness within the Group to make concrete further progress at the next ISWG-GHG meeting and work towards presenting text to MEPC 85 that adequately addresses the noted progress made in the consideration of proposals on how to address concerns raised regarding the draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI on the mid-term measure.

The Group invited interested delegations to continue to consult intersessionally to address remaining concerns with the draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, in line with the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy, taking into account views expressed at the Group’s session, with a view to submitting concrete proposals reflecting enhanced convergence allowing timely adoption and effective implementation.

Further consideration of the draft guidelines supporting the uniform and effective implementation of IMO’s mid-term measures.

The Group held a preliminary exchange of views on this agenda item, although time became a limiting factor and the Group and agreed to defer the consideration of all documents submitted to this session under this agenda item to ISWG-GHG 23 (23-27 November 2026).

Further consideration of the development of the IMO Life Cycle GHG Assessment (LCA) framework.

Due to time constraints, the Group was not able to consider the agenda item related to the IMO Life Cycle GHG Assessment (LCA) framework. The Group deferred the consideration of those documents to ISWG-GHG 23, in conjunction with the report of the fourth meeting of the GESAMP-LCA Working Group expected to be submitted to MEPC 85.

Next steps

The next meeting of the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 23) is scheduled for 23 to 27 November 2026, ahead of MEPC 85 (30 November to 3 December).

The second extraordinary session of MEPC (adjourned last October) is scheduled to resume on 4 December, subject to discussions at MEPC 85.

 

Photo credit: International Maritime Organization
Published: 7 September, 2026

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