We reprint below excerpts of a Ship & Bunker interview with CR Ocean Engineering Chief Operations Officer and President Nick Confuorto, where he discusses scrubber technology. Mr. Confuorto says that scrubber prices are undergoing changes and, for that reason, this is the best time to invest in a CROE scrubber system for your vessel.
“The change that is now taking place in the cost structure due to the higher demand is also visible in the schedule. What used to take us four weeks to get now is extended to more than 10 weeks in many cases. Therefore, the companies that decide to wait in order to get lower pricing will be surprised to find the total opposite when they eventually buy the systems. Costs are going up and schedules are extending. It is a normal supply and demand effect.”
There has also been some argument that scrubber technology will improve in the coming years, which again suggests value in waiting to invest, but Confuorto says this is also not the case.
“Several years ago when the marine technologies were first developed the costs were quite high because of the development costs. That is not the case now. The technologies are mature and the designs have been optimized.”
[…]
“I believe that 30-40% will want scrubbers but only the first ones who stop studying the issue and decide to move quickly to implementation will get the scrubbers installed before 2020,” he warned.
“The scrubbing system suppliers can easily cover the first 20%, but all others will need to use the more expensive fuel until their scrubber project can be implemented.”
Read the full interview at Ship & Bunker
