A tighter environmental grip on ships will throw the spotlight on what a German and Singapore-based operator terms “stranded assets”.

Hamburg Bulk Carriers (HBC) has taken delivery of the first two in a series of fuel-efficient bulkers but co-founder and Hamburg managing director Jens von Husen says shipping has “reacted very slowly” or not at all to the early announcement of emission control areas (ECAs) covering numerous ports in Europe and the US.