Bulk scrubber order for Newport retrofits

The purchase, which includes options for a further 100 units, is intended to protect ship owners against price hikes, production bottlenecks and installation slot constraints. To further improve its scrubber retrofit capability Newport has also signed cooperation agreements with Harris Pye and Goltens.

Erol Sarikaya, CEO, Newport Shipping, said: “We are providing shipowners with a true one-stop shop for equipment procurement, engineering, retrofit slots, and deferred payment plans covering up to 60% of the total contract cover over 18 months subsequent to completion.”

The company has negotiated an eight-month lead time for scrubbers ordered by the end of this month, enabling them to be fitted ahead of IMO’s 2020 sulphur cap.

The scrubber supplier, also known as Puyier, boasts more than 70 references and was selected for its 10-year track record, Newport said. The company manufactures open, closed and hybrid scrubber systems in I-type and U-type configurations. The system received approval from major classification societies following an installation onboard the containership COSCO Binghe in 2013.

Ryan Gao, general manager, Puyier, said the bulk purchase would allow it to pass on savings to owners while locking in favourable delivery slots. Gao also said that major suppliers were offering lead times of 16-20 months for scrubbers, compared with Puyier’s eight-month turnaround for Newport customers.

Newport currently has prospective buyers with binding letters of intent and contracts for 87 of the 100 scrubbers.