Marine fuels after 2020 III

Abstract

On 1st January 2020, a drastic change came into force to reduce the maximum permitted sulphur content of marine fuels from 3.5 % wt. to 0.5% wt. for the deep sea and oceans. This change had an impact not only on the shipping industry, but also on the entire refining sector, be it oil marketers, refineries, traders and manufacturers of fuels and end-user additives. In 2017 and 2018, the situation regarding marine fuels and the impending IMO 2020 changes was mapped out in the articles "Marine Fuels Post-2020" and "Marine Fuels Post-2020 II" published in Paliva journal. These publications are directly followed by the present article, which summarises the current data (as of early 2021) and experience from the past year, the first year of implementation of IMO 2020. The article describes how vessel operators have coped with this drastic reduction of the maximum sulphur content of marine fuels, as well as the economic consequences of this change.