The freight train known as IMO 2020 is upon us. Shipping has begun the Hercu­lean task of curbing sulphur emissions by 80%, in what most observers believe is a long-overdue alignment with global environmental trends.

In layman’s terms, it is not unlike the Americas switching from leaded to unleaded gasoline, catalytic converters, mufflers and emissions compliance. For the US, that change was swiftly precipitated by the energy crisis of the 1970s.