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Scrubber experts relayed their experience of retrofit installation, wastewater monitoring and lowering the closed-loop scrubber carbon footprint during the Marine Air Pollution, Europe conference during a session sponsored by Yara Marine Technologies. During the session, Chelsea's Matthew Kenney tackled the topic of wash water monitoring. Chelsea Technologies is the provider of the Sea Sentry IMO-compliant wash water monitoring system. He noted that around 80% of scrubbers in use are open loop, meaning that seawater is pumped into the gas desulphurisation unit and back out to sea. “The whole issue of waste water is poised to be a more pressing issue throughout 2021,” he said. “This is because the rules have not been set and Wash water rules are sitting in the awkward guidelines space as an annex to the main regulations.” Read more

Shipping companies have a degree of responsibility over ballast water compliance and whether they actually manage to remove organisms from ballast water before discharging. How can this be best done? Tanker Operator magazine spoke to Chelsea Technologies. Just buying and installing a type approved ballast water system may not be enough to guarantee regulatory compliance, says Matt Kenney, head of marketing with Chelsea Technologies, a UK specialist in sensor design and manufacture. Shipping companies have a degree of responsibility over whether the ballast water they discharge contains organisms above the allowed limit. In most maritime state legislatures, ship operators areRead more

Accurate scrubber wash water monitoring is a necessary investment for future compliance. The implementation of the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) 0.5% sulphur cap is set to be the first of many new environmental regulations over the coming years. Introduced to reduce the shipping industry’s impact on the heath and wellbeing of seafarers, and coastal communities, there is still some uncertainty about future regulation. With this in mind, ship owners and operators need to ensure that they are making careful and considered decisions in relation to the future design of their vessels, if they are to comply with future regulation, whileRead more

Installing a scrubber represents a significant investment for a shipowner. With the financial cost of the system and its installation, coupled with the lay-up time – no shipowner can take the decision lightly; with the reduced spread between HSFO and VLSFO increasing pay back times, scrubbers need to make sense as an even longer-term investment today. The economic case for scrubbers remains strong, though. If HSFO remains cheaper than VLSFO, scrubbers will represent a return on investment for shipowners and the current gap is highly likely to increase rather than decrease any further. Then there is the issue of fuelRead more

‘How do I help vessel owners ensure that they are making a choice that is future proof?’ article by Emma Johnson Investments can be precarious in the current climate. Therefore, all steps must be taken to validate any recommendations for compliance solution to shipowners to enable peace of mind and safeguard operations. In the case of scrubbers, it is imperative that shipowners have an in-built capability to allow them to monitor and manage wash water, providing assurance, but also – vitally – a tangible resource for regulators, as well as insurers, charterers and financiers. To stay afloat in 21st century shipping means always being one step ahead of the curve. Read more