More than 3000 box ships globally have installed scrubbing technology in a bid to comply with the 0.5% sulphur restriction on bunker fuel that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) brought into effect on January 1.And although equipping vessels with the necessary tank technologies to switch to liquid natural gas is the costliest method of complying with “IMO2020”, the more affordable water-wash systems used to remove air pollutants out of shipping fuel, generally referred to as “scrubbers”, are certainly not cheap.The time that it takes to fit ships with these systems, with scrub-supplier order books rapidly filling as liners queue to comply, also means that vessels are out of action, adding to loss of revenue for which carriers at some point will need to compensate.Says Jan Harnisch of global products at Rhenus Logistics Air & Ocean: “Refurbishing impacts services as the vessels affected are not operational, so we expect a higher number of blank sailings or temporary reduction of assets in the loops.”However, despite the impact of IMO2020, the COO says carriers are constantly looking for more cost-effective environmentally sustainable solutions.He believes that “both freight forwarders and shipping lines need to think about their company values, sustainability policies and approach regarding climate change”.The long-term benefit of complying with green earth initiatives, he says, is that “their approach to these environmental concerns could very well help to promote their businesses”.