The Need to cut Emissions will change Superyachts Exhaust Systems
“Scrubbers (also known as exhaust gas cleaning or flue gas desulphurisation systems) are not new.
Widely used in shore based factories and power stations, only recently has their application to marine vessels been considered.
According to a new report, from the consulting firm Accenture the marine environment has been one of the few areas of transportation to remain relatively unscathed by emissions regulation.
This may, in the future, have an impact super yacht exhausts, which have experienced little in the way of innovation; while sulphur emissions in road fuels have decreased significantly, there has been little or no change in sulphur emissions from marine transportation.
However, radical new legislation governing sulphur emissions from marine vessels has brought scrubbing technology to a position of prominence. In response to increasing pressure from international agencies and governments, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has now agreed an approach to achieving a limit of 0.5 percent sulphur emissions from marine vessels (2020) from 4.5 percent today.
A phased implementation in several Emissions Control Areas (ECAs) means that some vessels must comply with heightened limits today (a 1.5-percent limit in Baltic Sea and North Sea).82.
To meet this requirement, vessels must either switch to low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) or use a scrubber to extract sulphur from exhaust emissions.