In Lloyds List 15th of November, Eric van den Berg suggests that one of the reasons shipowners are holding back from investing in environmental technologies such as sea water scrubbers and ballast water treatment is that they will not enhance the second hand value of the vessel. At risk of stating the obvious, I am a little bemused as to how anyone can realistically put a value on a fully scrubbed vessel when as far as I am aware none has been made available for sale? The current value of scrubber systems is driven by the differential between high and low sulphur residual fuels. This has been somewhat erratic over the last 5 years and has not made significant investment attractive. In 2015 that dynamic changes completely for vessels desiring to operate within the Emissions Control Areas (ECA). In these areas the investment decision will be driven by the cost differential between residual fuel (whether high or low sulphur) and marine distillates. This differential is structural and is measured in hundreds of dollars per ton. Investment in scrubbing technology for a vessel operating predominantly within an ECA is paid back in months rather than years.-
As for seeing a second hand value benefit, well we believe this will come when the legislation bites post 2015. It is not difficult to see ships fitted with scrubbing technology demanding higher rates for trade into an ECA than those having to consume more expensive fuel, or more likely the un-scrubbed ships trading at a discounted rate to counteract the higher fuel cost. Given that this "two tier" market would be generated in hire, it is not a huge leap to see the enhancement of second hand values for scrubbed ships.