It's slow engines with scrubbers for now

NO APOLOGIES for getting a bit technical this week. It is for a good reason.

Shipowners are facing a plethora of decisions on complex technical issues against a background of uncertainty. Come Jan 1, 2020, now less than 18 months away, they will face the challenge of complying with the International Maritime Organisation's cap of 0.5 per cent sulphur in ships' fuel.

To fall in with the requirement, existing ships have a number of options - to use the (probably) much more expensive distillate fuel, or to go with one of the ultra-low-sulphur blended fuels now emerging on the market, or to fit a "scrubber" to take the sulphur out of funnel emissions.