Clean Shipping Alliance 2020 (CSA 2020) executive director Ian Adams believes high-sulphur fuel oil will remain in plentiful supply for as long as older refineries in Europe continue to operate.

That is because it will be uneconomical to upgrade these refineries to be able to break down the residual fuels with 3.5% sulphur content, even as the IMO 2020 regulation is set to ban the fuel on ships starting on 1 January unless they install exhaust gas scrubbers.