Emergency Contact Methods of compliance with the 2020 Sulphur Limit Home Latest updates News Methods of compliance with the 2020 Sulphur Limit 26 Feb 2019 Download Sign up for alerts Last year, the Club produced an infographic which provided preliminary information on the 2020 Global Sulphur Limit.  As the deadline to comply draws closer, we would like to provide further guidance, on the methods that Members may adopt to comply with the impending regulatory changes. In our earlier publication we identified four possible methods that Members could opt for, in order to comply with the sulphur cap of 0.5% m/m: Install a scrubber system which will allow vessels to use whatever fuel oil is available. Switch to low sulphur oil, for example Intermediate Fuel Oil (IFO) or Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) that has been treated to reduce the sulphur content. Switch to a distillate fuel such as Marine Diesel Oil (MDO) or Marine Gas Oil (MGO). Use an alternative fuel source like Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), Methanol or Hydrogen. Read more about these methods in the tabs below. Installing a scrubber system Scrubber systems vary between manufacturers but the predominant types are ‘open’ and ‘closed’ loop systems. The open loop scrubber is associated with the discharging of flushing water containing sulphur and sulphuric acid over board. These types of scrubbers have the biggest impact on the marine environment the use of which have already been banned in many ports for fear of their impact on the local marine environment. Consequently, more ports may enforce restrictions and scrutiny in respect of open loop scrubber systems. The closed loop scrubber is continuously re-circulating and treating the flushing water on board, therefore its environmental impact is lower than open loop systems. However, this system will produce a significant amount of residue and sludge containing sulphur, carbon and caustic. Disposal of this sludge will be problemati