08OCT2019 - NEWS - Intercargo says uncertainty dominates sulphur cap outlook

INTERCARGO says “major'' uncertainty is still clouding implementation of the 2020 sulphur cap as it called for sectoral differences within shipping to be respected in emissions reduction policies.

“We are three months from January 1 and we still have major uncertainty and major volatility,” said chairman Dimitrios Fafalios after dry bulk shipowners’ association’s semi-annual meeting in Athens.

“Each port state says no problem, everything is fine. But that’s not the question. The question is that you have a global industry with a global 0.5% goal,” he said. “We are not in the position of a liner company, LNG carriers or even of a VLCC [very large crude carrier] trading from the Persian Gulf to Far East. Our trades are itinerant. We are absolutely everywhere because we are carrying the world’s ‘must-have’ commodities.”

The 2020 sulphur cap loomed as “really a huge game-changer for our industry, especially our sector”.