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The shipping industry and consumers will benefit from lower fuel costs for decades following approval for marine environment technology from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), according to leading seawater scrubbing firm Krystallon Ltd..

The revision of IMO MARPOL Annex VI was formally adopted by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) last week, paving the way for shipping companies to fit scrubbing systems as an alternative to running more costly low sulphur marine fuels.

News of the adoption coincided with concerns raised by European ferry operator association Interferry that switching to 0.1% distillate fuel – part of the new package from 2015 in Emission Control Areas – would cost ferry European ferry operators an extra $7 billion in fuel costs and cause a significant modal shift away from sea transportation.

According to Krystallon, a medium sized ferry operating in the Baltic Sea and burning approximately 20,000 tonnes of fuel per year, could save $10 million per year in bunker costs by 2015 by simply fitting a scrubber unit. It would also enable shipping companies to meet regulatory standards beyond 2025.

Chris Leigh-Jones [pictured], Managing Director for Krystallon, welcomed the IMO's decision, citing a wholesale switch to distillates as disastrous if shipping wanted to maintain its position as the world's most efficient mode of transport.

Leigh-Jones said: “As the only current 'ready for market' scrubber manufacturer, the IMO decision has given us a great opportunity and responsibility to find solutions that work to offset the use of distillates, as we continue to hear loud and clear from operators, refiners and consumers that a wholesale fuel change does not work; economically on every level.”

Krystallon estimates that without scrubbing, refiners would have to find an estimated additional two billion barrels of crude oil per day by 2020 in order to produce enough 'clean fuel' distillates to meet shipping's fuel needs, a demand level that would drive crude and oil-related products' prices up, the company says.

"The oil market impact alone would likely more than double the cost of marine fuels and substantially increase the global price of diesel, aviation jet fuel and heating oil on land. Moreover, high fuel costs will cause a shift away from ships to land-based freight, particularly heavy freight vehicles that would have a counter-productive environmental impact,” Leigh-Jones added.