Norwegian P&I club Gard has urged crews and shipyards to be aware of potential problems with scrubbers as it detailed a number of damage claims it has already been involved in.

It is estimated that nearly 3,000 vessels will have the exhaust gas cleaning systems installed by 2020, with around another 1,000 units either ordered or planned.

"For the majority of owners and their crew members, scrubber systems are new technology and, as with any new system, teething problems can be expected," said Siddharth Mahajan, the club's loss prevention executive in Asia.