STRINGENT environmental rules on bunker fuels risk costing the shipping industry US$50 billion and driving many out of business, says MOL chief executive Junichiro Ikeda.
'We?re all going to go bust,' he told London's Financial Times.
To curb emissions from ships, the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has decided to cap sulphur content in marine fuel oil, cutting the limit from 3.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent in 2020.
The timing of the cap was brought forward after a study by Finland found that without it there could be 570,000 premature deaths from air pollution between 2020 and 2025.
Shipowners will either have to switch to more expensive, higher-quality marine fuel, invest in emissions-cleaning systems referred to as 'scrubbers' or use alternative fuels such as liquefied natural gas.
Jack Jordan, an editor at information service S&P Global Platts, said shipowners were having to choose a strategy 'with next-to-zero concrete information available, and the ones that make the wrong choice could be driven out of business in the early 2020s'.
In 2016, the OECD predicted the cost of the cap for container shipping would be $5 billion to $30 billion, while last year consultancy Wood Mackenzie said it could be up to $60 billion.
High-sulphur bunker fuel, which shipping companies use at present, is about $420 per tonne; low-sulphur oil is around $630 per tonne. Mr Ikeda said he expected the difference to rise to as much as $300.
'We?re all going to go bust,' he told London's Financial Times.
To curb emissions from ships, the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has decided to cap sulphur content in marine fuel oil, cutting the limit from 3.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent in 2020.
The timing of the cap was brought forward after a study by Finland found that without it there could be 570,000 premature deaths from air pollution between 2020 and 2025.
Shipowners will either have to switch to more expensive, higher-quality marine fuel, invest in emissions-cleaning systems referred to as 'scrubbers' or use alternative fuels such as liquefied natural gas.
Jack Jordan, an editor at information service S&P Global Platts, said shipowners were having to choose a strategy 'with next-to-zero concrete information available, and the ones that make the wrong choice could be driven out of business in the early 2020s'.
In 2016, the OECD predicted the cost of the cap for container shipping would be $5 billion to $30 billion, while last year consultancy Wood Mackenzie said it could be up to $60 billion.
High-sulphur bunker fuel, which shipping companies use at present, is about $420 per tonne; low-sulphur oil is around $630 per tonne. Mr Ikeda said he expected the difference to rise to as much as $300.