'Scrubbers pay off if ships in emission control zones 40pc of time'
GERMAN shipowner Reederei H-P Wegener has made bunker cost savings using Alfa Laval PureSOx scrubbers on two of its 1,000-TEU containerships in compliance with European emission control rules, reports Vancouver's Ship & Bunker.
"The scrubber lets ships use HFO [heavy fuel oil], instead of more expensive, low-sulphur alternatives," said Reederei HP Wegener managing director Jorn Mecklenburg.
It starts to pay off when 40 per cent of a vessel's time is spent in ECAs, "so the business case for these vessels was very clear", he said.
The vessels, which are on charter to Containerships Ltd were retrofitted at the start of 2015 with open-loop PureSOx systems, and said to have been specifically designed for use in the low-alkalinity Baltic waters in which the vessels operate.
Reederei HP Wegener says benefits from the investment in scrubbers is apparent after just one-and-a-half years of operation, noting that switching to MGO or other low sulphur fuel for ECA compliance would have increased fuel costs by as much as 100 per cent, or an estimated additional expenditure of EUR1.5 million (US$1.11 million).
"Even with the lower fuel prices in the past year, it turned out to be a good investment," Dr Mecklenburg said.
Scrubber installations were prepared for hybrid conversion, he said, giving the company the ability to adapt to changing regulations in the future and implement a closed-loop arrangement at a later date.
"We are prepared if new rules take effect where the vessels operate, so there's no worry about needing a new system later on," he said.
Recently Ship & Bunker reported that Finnlines Plc (Finnlines) says its 1H 2016 bottom line was boosted by its use of "less expensive" HFO in conjunction with scrubbers for ECA compliance, rather than simply burning more expensive ECA compliant 0.10 per cent sulphur fuels.
GERMAN shipowner Reederei H-P Wegener has made bunker cost savings using Alfa Laval PureSOx scrubbers on two of its 1,000-TEU containerships in compliance with European emission control rules, reports Vancouver's Ship & Bunker.
"The scrubber lets ships use HFO [heavy fuel oil], instead of more expensive, low-sulphur alternatives," said Reederei HP Wegener managing director Jorn Mecklenburg.
It starts to pay off when 40 per cent of a vessel's time is spent in ECAs, "so the business case for these vessels was very clear", he said.
The vessels, which are on charter to Containerships Ltd were retrofitted at the start of 2015 with open-loop PureSOx systems, and said to have been specifically designed for use in the low-alkalinity Baltic waters in which the vessels operate.
Reederei HP Wegener says benefits from the investment in scrubbers is apparent after just one-and-a-half years of operation, noting that switching to MGO or other low sulphur fuel for ECA compliance would have increased fuel costs by as much as 100 per cent, or an estimated additional expenditure of EUR1.5 million (US$1.11 million).
"Even with the lower fuel prices in the past year, it turned out to be a good investment," Dr Mecklenburg said.
Scrubber installations were prepared for hybrid conversion, he said, giving the company the ability to adapt to changing regulations in the future and implement a closed-loop arrangement at a later date.
"We are prepared if new rules take effect where the vessels operate, so there's no worry about needing a new system later on," he said.
Recently Ship & Bunker reported that Finnlines Plc (Finnlines) says its 1H 2016 bottom line was boosted by its use of "less expensive" HFO in conjunction with scrubbers for ECA compliance, rather than simply burning more expensive ECA compliant 0.10 per cent sulphur fuels.