Yara seeks to ease shipowners’ concerns over new marine emissions cap

The regulation – which was ratified today in London and will come into force in 2020 – requires vessels to burn fuel with a Sulphur content of less than 0.5 percent. Alternatively, owners can install Sox scrubbers, such as those produced by Yara, which remove virtually all Sulphur from the exhaust.

Head of Yara’s Industrial business, Yves Bonte, said the decision is positive for society, the environment and the industry.

“This is a good day for people all around the world,” he says. “The severe health and environmental damage caused by ship emissions could no longer be ignored. The decision gives shipowners time to comply and although there is a short-term investment, it will make the maritime industry more sustainable and environmentally friendly in the long term,” he said.

Studies link Sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions from ship exhausts to the death of tens of thousands of people each year mainly from cancer and heart and lung diseases.

This is why North America, and parts of Europe and China already demand that ships use fuel with a Sulphur content of 0.1 percent or less.

Under the new rules, only vessels with scrubbers installed will be allowed to have heavy fuel oil in their fuel tanks.

Dr. Thomas Koniordos, Head of Environmental Solutions at Yara said scrubbers are the most cost-effective option because they enable shipowners to continue operating on heavy fuel oil instead of more costly low-sulfur fuels.

“We estimate that the investment in a scrubber is repaid in two to five years, depending on fuel prices and consumption, due to lower operational costs. So any ship with a lifetime of five years or longer will always benefit from such an investment.

“Because they meet the strictest requirements, ships with scrubbers can operate anywhere. They also reduce owners’ exposure to an increased price spread between heavy fuel oil and low-sulfur fuels,” he explained.

Yara has installed over 100 scrubbers (as well as 1500 NOx abatement (SCR) systems) on ships and onshore factories and its system is certified in full compliance with regulatory requirements. The company offers both bespoke and standardized solutions.

Yara is making scrubbers smaller, easier to install, cheaper to operate, and even offers the ability to combine SOx and NOx reductions technologies on a single vessel. Yara’s system is suitable for any type of vessel and can be retrofitted or installed on newbuilds. Retrofits can be performed while a vessel is in operation in order to avoid downtime (assuming the vessel has multiple engines). Newbuild installations take a minimum of six months from signature to operation.