Greg Trauthwein, reporter for Maritime Reporter TV interviewed CR Ocean Engineering’s President and COO Nick Confuorto.
Mr. Confuorto, after providing some background on CR Ocean Engineering’s years of experience building exhaust gas scrubbers, dispels the mistaken idea that scrubbing technology is a complicated, labor-intensive endeavor.
“If a scrubber is designed well, maintenance is minimal,” said Mr. Confuorto.
Mr. Confuorto also discusses fuel prices and their impact in the scrubbing technology industry. “Low fuel costs have impacted the industry and many potential customers have chosen to wait for a while”. However, he adds,
“Fuel will not be low for a long time, especially if in 2020 the 0.5% [sulfur emissions cap] goes into play: We’re going to see the differential between low sulfur and high sulfur spiking considerably to more than what it is now. The industry is kind of expecting that. We’ve seen reports of US$600 to US$1000 range for the differential. At that range, they can afford many scrubbers.”
He explains that, “The main driver for our business is not so much a requirement for scrubbers but a requirement for saving money.”
Mr. Confuorto said that the recent IMO’s decision to impose a 0.5% now gives ship owners time to implement the changes needed for compliance.
