Hapag-Lloyd plans to recoup $1bn per year from the extra cost of using low-sulphur fuel when new emissions rules come into effect in 2020, according to chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen.

Still, he said the German liner operator is evaluating whether to fit LNG propulsion on a series of 15,000-teu boxships and scrubbers on a group of 13,000-teu vessels.

Speaking on the sidelines of this week's TradeWinds Shipowners Forum in Hamburg, Germany, Habben Jansen made it clear his company would not shoulder the additional cost of low-sulphur fuel.