International Maritime Organization NEWS

Delivery for the first batch of low-sulphur light marine fuel has come from Chinese downstream giant, Sinopec. The first batch of 6,800 tonnes of the IMO-standardized fuel came from Sinopec’s Shanghai refinery. Starting in 2020, IMO will forbid ships running on fuel oil, with sulphur content above 0.5%. The only exception to this rule will be the ships retrofitted with exhaust “scrubbers” to clean sulphur emissions.

Iran and Venezuela have been constantly in the news for driving the oil prices higher, with Brent Crude touching $80/bbl mark last week. However, analysts believe that the upcoming regulation of limiting sulfur in the fuel used by ships can greatly accelerate the oil prices. International Maritime Organization (IMO) has said that the global sulfur limit on fuel oil will be set at 0.5% from 2020.