News Release

The IMO 2020 Global Sulphur Cap

17 September 2018
From 1 January 2020, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set a new global limit for sulphur content in fuel oil used on board ships, from 3.5% to 0.5% mass by mass (m/m). It is part of the IMO’s response to heightening environmental concerns, contributed in part by harmful emissions from ships.
The more stringent sulphur regulation has led to the ship owners and operators mulling over which options they should choose in order to comply with the IMO regulation. In complying with the new regulations, will ships :
1) Fit with exhaust gas cleaning systems to continue the use of high sulphur fuel oil;
2) Use new blends of complaint fuels that contain maximum sulphur contents of 0.5% m/m; or
3) Use alternative marine fuel such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) or methanol.
It was not cleared which option will be a proven cost effective and efficient. Nevertheless, whichever option is chosen, it has its own set of issues and challenges like incremental bunker costs, availability of compliant fuels, costs of approved exhaust gas cleaning system, technical issues of new fuels, etc.
Grasping the real situation, YASC members of large product division marketing department signed up to attend the 4th LNG Marine Fuel Forum 2018 held in Singapore. Taking the initiatives, they shared information they gathered at the forum.
The forum is a platform for various stakeholders to share their experiences, technologies and discuss related issues pertaining to the usage of LNG as a marine fuel. At the same time, it provides networking opportunities and a chance for YASC to share Yanmar’s cleaner and reliable dual-fuel engine.
As one of the world’s largest bunkering hub, Singapore has also taken a bold steps to develop competitive and liberalized gas market - LNG bunker-ready port by 2020.
It had been a fabulous chance for YASC members to network and share knowledge. It is not just for an individual gain of knowledge inputs but also outputs. We believe in growing and working together towards a sustainable future.
Above contributed by:
- Damien Goh of YASC Large Products Division – Marketing Department
- Source:
www.seatrade-marinetime.com
http://petrominonline.com/lng-marine-fuel-forum/
https://www.platts.com/IM.Platts.Content/InsightAnalysis/IndustrySolutionPapers/SR-tackling-2020-imo-impact-shipowners-tighter-sulfur-limits.pdf