No easy way out of those sulphur rules

LAST week, about a 1,000 members of the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) from around the world gathered in London for the organisation's annual dinner. As usual, Singapore was well represented and, also as usual, active discussion prolonged the evening. I am reliably informed that the bunker business was still being discussed as 3 am rolled around.

While there was indeed a lot to talk about, there was really only a single underlying theme to most conversations this year: the impact of the impending 0.5 per cent sulphur-in-fuel limit is definitely concentrating minds.

Just before the the IBIA gathering, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) finalised draft guidelines for the "consistent implementation of the 2020 sulphur limit".