Low Sulfur Fuel for Shipping

Lowering the emissions from ocean freight vessels is an obligation that everyone in the industry, including freight forwarders, must respect. After all, protecting the environment is important. In the coming years, there will be new laws that shipping entities must follow in order to respect our environment. One of these laws is slated to take place in 2015. This particular law will impact the fuel for ships. Essentially, the law puts low-sulfur requirements and caps how much sulfur for ships that travel in Low Emissions Control Areas. According to the rules, all vessels in these special areas must switch their fuel source to MGO, which stands for Marine Gas Oil, which has a .10% limit on the sulfur. Because of the requirements, oil companies and ocean carriers must work together to handle the new laws.

Shippers might be wondering how these new low-sulfur laws impact them. It turns out that as a result of the laws, the expenses for the carriers will increase. One study said that it could cost $20-$50 more per container between the US and Europe. And it could cost $100-$200 more per container for shipping from Asia to Europe. These expenses will be passed onto the shippers, and their ocean freight shipping rates could increase. Therefore, shippers should pay attention to the new low-sulfur laws.

Hopefully, there could be a better outcome for shippers. As an alternative, there is a study called the ReShip project, which uses low quality wood for biofuels, which could still fit into the new requirements.