Eagle Bulk Orders up to 37 Scrubbers

Dry bulk shipowner Eagle Bulk Shipping announced this week it will purchase up to 37 exhaust gas cleaning systems, also known as scrubbers, from an undisclosed manufacturer as part of its strategy to comply with new regulations that limit ships’ sulphur emissions from 2020.

The U.S.-headquartered shipowner said it has placed firm orders for scrubbers to be retrofitted on 19 of its vessels ahead of the January 1, 2020 implementation date of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 0.5 percent sulphur cap rules. Eagle Bulk also has options for up to 18 additional units.

The company said each scrubber system will cost approximately $2 million, including installation.

In order to minimize vessel downtime, a significant amount of the retrofit work will be carried out on board the vessels while at sea and trading, Eagle Bulk said.

Gary Vogel, Eagle Bulk's CEO, commented Tuesday, “Today’s announcement is the culmination of significant work and analysis, and we are excited to be able to position ourselves to not only meet the forthcoming sulphur emission regulations, but also to realize the economic advantage we believe scrubbers will provide. Additionally, we are confident that Eagle Bulk’s active owner-operator model will ensure that we can effectively maximize the returns on this investment and technology.”