There is a significant uptrend in fuel prices both on a global and a regional basis. Central America is the only region to report falls in 380HFO, VLSFO and MGO, while North America saw a drop in VLSFO. All the other regional prices are increased.
That means that the spread between HFO and VLSFO remains more or less stable and the scrubber investors remain very stressful. It is obvious that as the spread is narrowing, pay back of the capital investment for the scrubber installation will need a longer period.
Ship & Bunker reports that a spread of US$300/ metric tonne indicates a capital investment pay back period of 67-133 days, while a spread of US$150 / metric tonne extends that time to 123-267 days (double time). Should the spread continue to decline to around US$75/tonne the return on investment would extend to up 550 days.
