A key IMO meeting has agreed that ships will be allowed to burn high-sulphur fuel oil after 1 January 2020 if they can prove they had legitimate concerns about the quality and safety of available compliant fuels.
The move comes in response to widespread industry worries that the new generation of blended low-sulphur fuel oil may be more prone to contamination from catalytic fines, leading to machinery breakdowns, engine failure and, in the worst cases, ship casualties.
