Exhaust gas cleaning systems, commonly known as scrubbers, remove sulphur oxides from a vessel's exhaust before it reaches the atmosphere, allowing continued operation on conventional heavy fuel oil while meeting the IMO's 0.50% global sulphur cap and the stricter limits in Emission Control Areas. For shipowners, scrubber retrofits can therefore form an important part of a broader environmental compliance strategy. Retrofitting a scrubber onto a vessel already in service involves far more than installing a tower in the funnel casing — it touches structure, stability, piping, electrical power, and automation across the vessel.
GLO Marine manages the full scrubber retrofit scope as a single, coordinated project. Rather than treating structural work, systems integration, and commissioning as separate handovers between contractors, we carry the technical basis from feasibility through Class approval and into service.
Scrubber retrofits are most effective on vessels with sufficient funnel and casing space to accommodate the tower, piping runs, and, for open-loop and hybrid systems, overboard discharge arrangements — and with a fuel consumption profile that justifies the retrofit investment against the price differential between heavy fuel oil and compliant fuel.
Scrubber Integration Considerations:
GLO Marine assesses funnel and casing space, structural and stability integration, system routing, and Class requirements to determine scrubber configuration and retrofit viability.
GLO Marine provides independent engineering support for scrubber and exhaust gas cleaning system retrofits, including feasibility assessment, structural integration, system design, and Class documentation. We help owners determine scrubber configuration and define an efficient path to installation. Scrubber retrofits are frequently delivered alongside Ballast Water Treatment System retrofits under the same environmental compliance programme, and we coordinate both scopes as one project where a vessel needs both.
Because a scrubber retrofit adds significant weight and structure high in the vessel, typically in the funnel and casing area, early engineering confirmation of structural feasibility and stability impact is essential before procurement or yard planning begins.
GLO Marine is an independent engineering provider and is not affiliated with any specific scrubber technology manufacturer.
For retrofit or new-build projects, GLO Marine evaluates vessel configuration and proposes a tailored engineering approach.
Planning a retrofit, conversion, or decarbonisation project? Share your project details and timelines, and our specialists will respond with the expertise and structured approach needed to move forward with confidence.
