Shipowners are reportedly facing long queues and higher costs when refuelling in Singapore, the world’ largest bunkering hub.
With the IMO requiring vessels to switch to 0.5%-sulphur fuel from high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) from January, unless they are installed with scrubbers, barge owners are busy cleaning the tanks onboard to carry the new compliant fuel.
Citing unnamed shipping firms and brokers, Bloomberg reported it would take about two weeks to book a barge instead of the usual five days with many units out of service.
