News / Plummeting oil price means carrier investment in scrubbers was a washout

ID 134257068 © Mark Roger Bailey | Dreamstime.com

The strategy of carriers, such as MSC, Evergreen and HMM, that heavily invested in exhaust-cleaning scrubbers appears to have backfired.

Global oil prices have slumped to below $20 per barrel, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and bunker prices have reacted accordingly.

The margin between IMO 2020-compliant low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) and the heavy fuel oil (HFO) burned by ships fitted with scrubbers, is eroding daily.

According to data supplied by Ship & Bunker, Rotterdam-sourced LSFO is on offer today at $149.50 per ton, ...