Comprehensive economic analyses in terms of maritime Sulphur 2020 regulation

Abstract

Although there are some studies on the impact of Sulphur 2020 on shipping in the literature, large-scale economic analyses are scarce. For this reason, in compliance with sulphur abatement, this study aims to determine the most economical alternatives for shipping companies. First, real data are collected from the maritime industry and scenarios are created regarding different ship types, engine powers, sailing times and fuel prices. In conclusion, using very low sulphur fuel oil alternative for dry cargo ships, hybrid scrubber alternative for crude oil tankers, open-loop scrubber alternative for container ships and hybrid scrubber for Ro-Ro ships are found as economically beneficial in most cases. Last of all, the break-even time from low sulphur fuels to scrubber types is presented to guide shipowners in finding the best alternative with respect to ship ages.