Larger shipowners may get a competitive boost due to a pending mandate requiring a lower sulphur content in vessel fuel, one Deutsche Bank analyst says.

The International Maritime Organization will require that the sulphur content in fuel oil used by ships be lowered to 0.5% from 3.5% by 2020.

To adhere, shipowners may either burn a cleaner marine gas oil costing $200 to $300 more per ton or install fuel exhaust gas scrubbers at a price of $600,000 to $2m per ship.