Last week IMO decided that from the 1st of January 2020 the global Sulphur limit for marine fuels will be cut to 0.5%.

The driver for reducing SOx emissions is to reduce the impact shipping has on human health ( SOx emissions are associated with asthma, chronic bronchitis, etc) and the environment, where SOx emission cause acid rain.

Exhaust gas scrubbers are becoming increasingly important to the marine industry. This has been brought into focus by IMO’s decision last week for the 0.5% global sulphur limit to come into force from the 1st of January 2020.

Houlder’s Marine Design Consultancy team has been working with suppliers such as Alpha Laval, Oceanox, Dupont-Belco and completed the installation of scrubbers on 5 products tankers and completed design studies on a number of ferries.

Houlder have spent the last couple of years working with industry, owners and shipyards to resolve issues involved in retrofitting open loop in-line scrubbers to cross channel ferries and hybrid scrubbers to product tankers.

As an independent design and engineering provider, Houlder’s tasks centered on Engineering, 3D design and modelling of the scrubber supports and pipe routing (pictured below) to ensure the systems fit within the structural constraints of the existing vessels.

Houlder also provided more typical Naval Architecture services such as weight calculations, updates to the stability books along with writing technical specifications for the equipment and providing support throughout the installation. 

If Shipowner’s are considering fitting SOx scrubbers, it is worth bearing in mind that Houlder ( an independent marine design company) have experience in the engineering required to retrofit these systems, having now completed 6.

If you are considering Scrubbers as an option then it is worth talking to us. We are independent and not tied to a particular manufacturer.