Sea change for shipping sector

New rules are imminent and will have a big impact on the global fuel oil sector

Only two years remain before world shipping must conform to the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Marpol "Annex VI" regulation to reduce sulphur content in marine fuels. Market participants agree that this is a major and potentially disruptive change, but say fuel suppliers and shippers seem to be approaching the deadline with equanimity. "Fundamentally, people are not prepared, in the sense that they're not doing anything differently" ahead of the deadline, says Andrew Laven, regional manager for Middle East and Africa at the Bomin Group, a bunkering company with operations worldwide. He points out that many in the industry believe evaluations that there will be enough 0.5% sulphu