New York-listed Global Ship Lease (GSL) has identified a potential boost to its operations from the coming IMO 2020 deadline.
The boxship owner's CCO Tom Lister said on its conference call that the company views the regulations as a positive catalyst for owners offering ships to the charter market.
"Scrubber retrofitting, which takes a vessel out of service for approximately six weeks, is causing the removal of capacity from the market during 2019 and beyond," he added.
Lister also believes operators will further slow-steam vessels, causing a reduction in effective supply.
But market fundamentals themselves are also working in GSL's favour, he said.
"We believe industry dynamics continue to be most attractive for smaller and particularly mid-sized ships, which make up the GSL fleet and will represent our continued focus going forward," he added.
"Despite headwinds, the sentiment, industry fundamentals are supportive, with demand forecast to grow faster than supply, particularly in the non-main lane trades.
"The order book pipeline for midsize and smaller ships is very limited. Scrapping activity is picking up."
He added: "We’re positioning GSL to capitalise on upside opportunities in this space over the short, medium and long-term."
