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PGT: Fuel price spread great news for ships with scrubbers

‘Vindication, then, for those owners who moved early in favour of marine gas scrubbers,’ says manufacturer.
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Scrubber technology firm Pacific Green Technologies (PGT) on Tuesday (4 November) published the following article informing the shipping industry on the cost benefits of using scrubbers:

In late-2018, S&P Global Platts suggested that the industry could expect an HFO-LFO price spread of $400 a ton in 2019.

An overly bold prediction? Perhaps, but Alphaliner’s analysis of pricing in August showed that the spread was already over halfway there. And at the time of writing (October 2019) the spread for November 2019 is $250, and it’s $200 and already rising for the first months of 2020.

It’s no surprise that demand for LFO is increasing ahead of the looming 0.5% sulphur (sulfur) fuel cap, and supply chain woes are being exacerbated by an increase in operator stockpiling and a global lag in refineries switching production.

Predictions universally suggest that LFO price will continue to rise in the short-term and, put simply by Kurt Barrow, IHS Markit Consultancy Vice President, “the industry is not ready” for IMO 2020.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) in its March report, the effects of LFO price increase will be felt most acutely in 2020 and will then moderate in 2021.

Vindication for those shipowners who moved early on marine gas scrubbers

As part of Alphaliner’s analysis, a saving of $2m was calculated per Asia-North Europe round trip voyage for a container vessel running on HFO. With an industry average marine exhaust gas scrubber installation costing $5m-10m per vessel, it’s clear that the risk of investing in the technology now is very low, even if the wide spread only lasts until the end of 2021.

Predictions are not certainties, of course, but as highlighted by the EIA, “as January 2020 approaches, the [LFO], MDO, and [HFO] price spread will be more certain, providing clearer signals to market participants on how to react, invest, and plan.”

With regulatory implementation only three months away, what is certain is that shipowners who decide to retrofit scrubbers will not be exposed to any potential (perhaps inevitable) LFO price increases or lack of supply.

Vindication, then, for those owners who moved early in favour of marine gas scrubbers.

And, if cost-saving and guaranteed fuel supply were not reason enough for shipowners to choose scrubbers over switching to LFO, there are a range of environmental, operational and financial reasons to consider.

Put simply, scrubbers are good for the environment.

They are an effective and proven method of reducing sulphur oxide and other harmful emissions, although they have been incorrectly criticised by some environmentalists in relation to the discharge of supposedly harmful wash water.

In January, the Clean Shipping Alliance 2020 released a report following a 3-year study into the quality and composition of wash water. Through “rigorous comparison to other world water quality standards,” the study showed that the wastewater met IMO standards and the results reaffirmed that “exhaust gas cleaning systems are effective and safe for the ocean environment.”

Most recently, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism released a report on wash water, concluding that no environmentally unacceptable impacts would occur from scrubber operation.

Furthermore, Japan is leading the way by deciding to support the use of open-loop scrubbers aboard ships and discouraging other countries from banning wash water discharge.

According to the International Energy Agency, “some shipping companies may be reluctant to adopt a new fuel immediately, and would prefer to use marine gas oil (MGO) until they have confidence that LFO will be easily available in ports and stable and compatible with similar grades.”

MGO is still a high cost option and switching between fuel types creates additional complexity for operators, including the configuration of fuel handling systems and machinery, and the need to switch engine lubricating oils.

Retrofitting a scrubber, on the other hand, facilitates business-as-usual operations

Industry commentators suggest that many operators simply plan to roll the dice of non-compliance – an ill-advised and potentially costly approach to avoid acting before January.

Switching to LFO or MGO means higher operating costs, which puts further financial burden on operators, will require many to stretch lines of credit, and will likely force operators to adopt slow-steaming in order reduce fuel consumption.

Retrofitting a scrubber, on the other hand, facilitates business-as-usual operations. HFO is low cost and in plentiful supply across the globe – a situation that no fuel analyst would suggest is going to change anytime soon.

And investing in the safe removal of pollutants from a ship’s exhaust emissions is an environmentally and socially responsible act, as supported by the IMO – the very organization that exists to protect the world’s marine environment.

Source: Pacific Green Technologies
Published: 5 November, 2019
 

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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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22 hours ago

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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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22 hours ago

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September 7, 2026

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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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22 hours ago

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September 7, 2026

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IMO

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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