Port of Fujairah Readies for IMO 2020 as It Introduces Low Sulphur Bunkers

The Port of Fujairah, the only multipurpose port located on the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has started offering the International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2020-compliant 0.5% sulphur bunker fuel oil.

The low-sulphur bunker fuel will be available in Fujairah from February 2019, according to the Port of Fujairah Notice to Mariners No. 254 dated February 24, 2019.

“We are pleased to inform the vessels calling Fujairah Offshore Anchorage Area and Port of Fujairah that Fujairah Refining Limited has started manufacturing and production of the first bunker fuel oil 0.5% sulfur which is ready for delivering in Fujairah,” the notice reads.

Last month, the Port of Fujairah also decided to ban the use of open-loop scrubbers in its waters. The port said that vessels will have to use compliant fuel once the 2020 sulphur cap enters into force.

Both moves come ahead of the new sulphur regulation that will come into effect on January 1, 2020. Under the new global cap, ships will have to use fuel oil onboard with a sulphur content of no more than 0.5%, against the current limit of 3.5% which has been in effect since 2012.

The new global limit is expected to significantly reduce the amount of sulphur oxide emanating from ships.