Belco and Maersk pair up to test scrubber technology

As the International Maritime Organisation’s stringent new sulphur emission regulations draw nearer, Belco Technologies Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of chemical company DuPont, has partnered with the Maersk Group to demonstrate its marine scrubber technology aboard the shipping line’s Tukang vessel.

The technology is designed to reduce sulphur oxide and particulate emissions from ship engines and boilers, enabling vessels to meet sulphur emission limits as required by the International Maritime Organisation’s MARPOL Annex VI regulations without having to switch to low-sulphur fuels such as marine gas oil.

The scrubber was tested over six days in May this year as it sailed from the Port of Algeciras, Spain, to Genoa, Italy. Representatives of the two companies were on board, along with a surveyor from the American Bureau of Shipping who was there to witness and monitor the full testing as the system awaits class certification, expected later this year.