from Scott Poulter, Chairman and CEO Pacific Green Technologies
The IMO’s 0.5% sulphur fuel limit came into effect on 1 January 2020. A couple of months on, with many vessels experiencing problems with LSFO supply and quality – the significant savings, relative simplicity of HSFO supply and increasing research supporting the environmental benefits – means that more and more shipowners are reconsidering scrubbers.
Scott Poulter, CEO Pacific Green Technologies says: “In the twelve months leading up to the IMO 2020 implementation date, demand has steadily increased from all types of vessels – bulkers, tankers and containers. Looking ahead, we expect the market to be dominated by retrofits for the next few years and then the balance will switch to focus more on newbuilds for at least another five to ten years.”
To date Pacific Green Technologies (PGT), which has over a decade designing, manufacturing and implementing scrubbers, has installed scrubbers on over 50 vessels, with more than 100 orders in the pipeline. Their ENVI-Marine™ system offers an industry-leading return on investment, able to operate in an open-loop, open-loop hybrid-ready or fully hybrid mode, depending on the sea’s alkalinity, wherever the ship is located. Furthermore, the ENVI-Marine can be fitted or retrofitted to almost any engine without impacting its workings.
Building on this success and responding to shipowners calls for lower capex and opex levels, PGT has developed a new ‘naked scrubber’ using the same technology as ENVI-Marine™. The new enclosureless stainless steel scrubber offers further cost savings, a faster retrofit turnaround time – cutting dry dock costs by at least 20%, a low-risk installation process and a 15% reduction in weight and lower energy requirements.
Scott adds: “The reasons for fitting a scrubber are already compelling, but with our new naked scrubber we’ve made the financial and operational justification even stronger”.
While shipyards in China have faced closures as a result of the coronavirus, PGT is better placed than most to handle delays. Working in joint venture partnership with the massive state-owned utility company PowerChina, PGT enjoys greater market reach and dramatically increased engineering capacity, enabling it to accelerate retrofit installations to meet worldwide demand.
Every ship is unique and so every scrubber installation needs to be too but PGT offers a highly skilled, experienced and knowledgeable team, who provide a strong local presence, clear effective project management and constant client liaison.
Scott Poulter explains that: “Our goal is to make the retrofit process as smooth, efficient and quick as possible. After conducting a feasibility study for the installation, the design team, as well as the company technical and operations team, reviews the solution and system specification.
“For most vessels, PGT offers a retrofit time of between 25-30 weeks, but our team will oversee the installation throughout the vessel’s time in the shipyard, and then provide training for the ships’ crew in the operation and maintenance of the scrubber.”
PGT’s scrubber specialists work to deliver industry leading return on investment and assured IMO 2020 compliance, despite the global challenges facing shipowners today.