In less than six months, exhaust-gas scrubbers have gone from being a dull technology to a contentious and sexy issue in shipping.

The debate has polarised those opting for scrubbers and those standing back. It sweetly captures the eternal emotional tug-of-war between fear and greed in all markets.

To the pro-scrubber community — dubbed the Scrubber Brotherhood by one sceptical shipowner — the technology brings nothing but good; it enables ships to continue to burn high-sulphur fuel and is fully compliant with the IMO's 2020 sulphur cap.