South Korean steelmaker Posco is ready for commercial sales of super-alloy stainless steel for scrubbers necessary for vessels that should abide by new environmental rules by the International Maritime Organization, the company said Wednesday.

This year, Posco succeeded in commercializing super-alloy stainless steel, labeled S31254, for vessel scrubbers, and it has been supplying the steel to clients including Hyundai Heavy Industries Power Systems, Kangrim Heavy Industries and STI. 

Installing a scrubber, which cleans fuel on ships, is one of the options for vessel owners to abide by new environmental regulations set by the International Maritime Organization. From January 2020, the IMO ruled that ships will have to use fuel with a maximum of 0.5 percent sulfur content, down from the current 3.5 percent, in response to growing harmful emissions from ships.

By installing scrubbers, vessels can reduce around 90 percent of the sulfur emitted from the ships.

Posco predicted more than 12,000 vessels would apply scrubbers over the next five years.

The steelmaker also plans to expand its client base for the super-alloy stainless steel into other environmental facilities, such as desulfurization for thermoelectric power plants. 

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)