Search is on for next 'scrubber' trial

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

29 Dec 2007

Plans are moving ahead to fit another vessel with a sea-water scrubber.  The project is part of a drive to demonstrate the effectiveness of abatement technology as a way of reducing sulphur emissions from ships. The project has been delayed while an appropriate ship can be found. "BP Shipping are keen to ensure they have the right criteria for the scrubber test they wish to carry out," Andy Osbourne, Business Development Director for Krystallon, told Bunkerworld.UK-based Krystallon, a BP joint venture company, has been pioneering the development of scrubbers. It has  been at the forefront of research to find alternatives to lowering the sulphur content of bunker fuel as a means of reducing harmful sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions.The trial ship was originally to have been a lightering vessel operating on the west coast of the United States. But the plan is now to retrofit a vessel at Sembawang shipyard in Singapore."Currently, BP Shipping are still evaluating which vessel - or indeed which vessel type - will be retrofitted.  All I can really say is that the installation is targeted during 2008," said Osbourne.Extensive sea-trials of Krystallon scrubbers have already been conducted on a ferry operating in Northern Europe and a cruise ship sailing off the North American West Coast.Supporters of scrubbers say they can reduce sulphur emissions from ships' exhaust to virtually zero, offering ship operators a viable way of reducing SOx pollution without using low sulphur bunker fuel.The next hurdle for campaigners backing abatement technology is to win formal approval for the systems from the International Maritime Organization (IMO).