So you thought Euronav and a strict anti-scrubber stance went hand in hand?
Think again.
That point was made again today by Euronav’s new chief executive, Hugo De Stoop, in remarks to the annual Marine Money Week conference in New York.
Some scrubbers could yet find their way onto the tankers of the European owner, but it depends on how the price spread between compliant low-sulphur fuel and the high-sulphur option plays out after the IMO 2020 emissions deadline hits, De Stoop explained.
“Euronav is not against scrubbers,” De Stoop said, repeating a theme he raised in an April interview with TradeWinds.
“We are not scrubber haters or scrubber lovers. We are scrubber watchers.”
The point also drives hope that De Stoop is a different Euronav leader from his predecessor, Paddy Rodgers, an outspoken critic of scrubbers on an environmental basis who made a surprise exit from the office in February.
De Stoop stepped up from his longtime post as chief financial officer.
“We prefer to be in a situation where we first see the spread,” De Stoop said, adding that if the numbers are right, Euronav could retrofit the gas-cleaning devices onto some tankers in the “non-eco” portion of its fleet — about one-third.
De Stoop did make clear in a sideline interview with TradeWinds that Euronav’s recent decision to “tap” an existing $150m bond issue for an additional $50m had nothing to do with any scrubber-financing preparations.
The owner has ample liquidity without the bond funds, De Stoop said, and the upsizing rather was done for technical reasons that make the bonds more attractive for a potential refinancing down the road at the larger size.
