To scrub or not to scrub? That's the question

IN JUST over a month, key players in the global bunker trade will be gathering in Singapore to discuss the big issues facing the global marine fuel industry - and the hottest of those issues to be discussed at the Singapore International Bunkering Conference 2018 (SiBCON) has got to be how to comply with the impending global 0.5 per cent cap on sulphur in fuel.

As mentioned more than once in this column, one way of complying with the cap is by fitting abatement technology or "scrubbers", which remove sulphur from the emission stream. Whether it is the best way for some owners will no doubt be debated both in and outside the conference hall.

There will be plenty of information available, but that won't really help shipowners make the crucial decision because the one thing is certain: Nobody really knows what will happen to the bunker market after Jan 1, 2018.