The AP Moeller Maersk Group will focus on low sulfur marine fuels under the new regime from 2020, though it will also install scrubbers in some of its ships just to test and understand new technologies, a senior company executive said.
The company is also closely working with customers on a new Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) that will better reflect the fluctuation in marine fuel prices when the new low sulfur marine fuel regime is implemented from 2020, Rene Piil Pedersen, the company’s Group Representative for Asia-Pacific and Managing Director for AP Moller Singapore Ltd, said recently on the sidelines of an outreach event of the European Union-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.
“Our main policy is to opt for compliant fuels but also test scrubbers in some of the ships,” Pedersen said.
The new global cap of 0.5% sulfur in marine fuels, from 3.5% currently, will be implemented from 2020.
“Maersk’s key focus will be to use low sulfur fuels including blended ones that are compliant in all geographies,” he said.
The main reason for Maersk to opt for compliant fuels instead of scrubbers is that the latter are tantamount to “creating refineries at sea,” he said. A better solution is for refineries to produce compliant fuels as they can do so more efficiently, he added.
This does not imply that Maersk will not use scrubbers at all — it plans to invest an overall $80 million in its scrubbers related initiative, Pedersen said.
“As a big company we want to test and understand other technologies as well, which may open up other opportunities in future,” he said.
The company is also closely working with customers on a new Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) that will better reflect the fluctuation in marine fuel prices when the new low sulfur marine fuel regime is implemented from 2020, Rene Piil Pedersen, the company’s Group Representative for Asia-Pacific and Managing Director for AP Moller Singapore Ltd, said recently on the sidelines of an outreach event of the European Union-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.
“Our main policy is to opt for compliant fuels but also test scrubbers in some of the ships,” Pedersen said.
The new global cap of 0.5% sulfur in marine fuels, from 3.5% currently, will be implemented from 2020.
“Maersk’s key focus will be to use low sulfur fuels including blended ones that are compliant in all geographies,” he said.
The main reason for Maersk to opt for compliant fuels instead of scrubbers is that the latter are tantamount to “creating refineries at sea,” he said. A better solution is for refineries to produce compliant fuels as they can do so more efficiently, he added.
This does not imply that Maersk will not use scrubbers at all — it plans to invest an overall $80 million in its scrubbers related initiative, Pedersen said.
“As a big company we want to test and understand other technologies as well, which may open up other opportunities in future,” he said.
