MEDITERRANEAN Shipping Company (MSC) has secured financing to install scrubber systems on board 86 of its ships to enable them to comply with the International Maritime Organisation's new low sulphur fuel rule that comes into effect in January 2020.
The Swiss shipping company is set to borrow US$439 million from a syndicate of four banks for the systems, law firm Watson Farley & Williams said, according to London's S&P Global Platts, which added that the lawyers advised BNP Paribas that acted as coordinating bank and agent for the deal.
The scrubber equipment will clean the vessels' exhaust, allowing them to comply with the 0.5 per cent sulphur content cap without having to buy cleaner but more expensive marine fuels.
The carrier's decision to install the equipment on 86 out of its total fleet of 510 cargo vessels is likely to boost fuel oil demand at the ports that its vessels visit from 2020.
In a statement released in December, MSC said it expects its costs will rise by $2 billion per annum as a result of its efforts to comply with the new IMO low-sulphur marine fuel rule.
S&P Global Platts Analytics forecasts a total of 2,200 ships will be fitted with scrubbers by the start of 2020.
WORLD SHIPPING
The Swiss shipping company is set to borrow US$439 million from a syndicate of four banks for the systems, law firm Watson Farley & Williams said, according to London's S&P Global Platts, which added that the lawyers advised BNP Paribas that acted as coordinating bank and agent for the deal.
The scrubber equipment will clean the vessels' exhaust, allowing them to comply with the 0.5 per cent sulphur content cap without having to buy cleaner but more expensive marine fuels.
The carrier's decision to install the equipment on 86 out of its total fleet of 510 cargo vessels is likely to boost fuel oil demand at the ports that its vessels visit from 2020.
In a statement released in December, MSC said it expects its costs will rise by $2 billion per annum as a result of its efforts to comply with the new IMO low-sulphur marine fuel rule.
S&P Global Platts Analytics forecasts a total of 2,200 ships will be fitted with scrubbers by the start of 2020.
WORLD SHIPPING