Image credit: D/S Norden

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D/S Norden has increased its estimated capital expenditure for the purchase and installation of exhaust gas scrubbers in 2020, whilst at the same time slightly reducing its total projected scrubber-related costs for the 2018-2020 period.

Back in August, Norden had forecast that scrubber costs would amount to $41m, with $4m expected to be spent this year, $33m next year and $4m in 2020.

However, those figures have now been adjusted, with Norden forecasting that scrubber costs in 2020 will rise by $3m, or 75 percent, to $7m.

At the same time, Norden is now forecasting that there will be no scrubber costs this year, whilst maintaining its $33m prediction for 2019.

It means that total expenditure relating to exhaust gas cleaning systems between 2018 and 2020 is now expected to be $40m - instead of the previous estimate of $41m.

As previously reported, Norden recently ordered the installation of 26 scrubbers and has the option to fit an additional five.

Of these, two scrubbers are to be installed on newbuilds; 16 retrofitted on selected, owned vessels; and the remaining eight will be fitted on long-term chartered tonnage.

At the end of the third quarter of 2018, Norden owned a total of 22 tankers - 13 MR vessels and nine handysize tankers. The company recently took delivery of two MRs and delivered a previously sold handysize tanker to its owners.

In its latest financials, released on Wednesday, Norden posted a loss for the period of $9.3m, an adjusted loss of $11.6m, and an EBIT of -6.5m. This was despite revenue increasing by $161.9m, or 35.2 percent, to $621.9m.