Alphaliner: Scrubber Orders for Boxships Rise to over 540 Units

With just nine more months ahead of the IMO 2020 sulphur cap implementation date, the total number of scrubber orders for containerships has risen to over 540 units, according to Alphaliner.

Additional orders have been unveiled since Alphaliner’s last survey in November, with an increasing number of owners aiming to take advantage of the potential cost savings that the devices could bring.

Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) continues to lead the way and the total number of scrubbers ordered for its owned and chartered fleet now approaches an estimated 180 units. The carrier has already secured a USD 439 million loan to fit 86 exhaust gas cleaning systems to its fleet, with additional scrubbers to be installed on a number of MSC-chartered ships.

Taiwanese shipping major Evergreen has over 90 scrubbers on order, for newbuildings as well, and it will receive in May and June the first-ever scrubber-fitted megamax vessels, the 20,388 TEU sisters Ever Glory and Ever Govern. Ten of its 2,886 TEU ships have already been fitted with scrubbers, with more units on the way.

Last week, South Korea’s Hyundai Merchant Marine unveiled that 41 of the containerships under its control would be equipped with scrubbers by mid-2021, comprising 20 newbuildings and 21 existing vessels. The figure includes two 11,000 TEU ships that were fitted with scrubbers in 2018. In addition, HMM will have scrubbers installed on several long term chartered ships, which could bring its total fleet of scrubber-fitted vessels to some 50 units, based on Alphaliner estimates.

Maersk has already committed USD 263 million for the installation of scrubbers on some 50 of its containerships, reversing its previous position to rely primarily on low sulphur fuel to comply with the new IMO regulations.