That's a joke.
The Aponte clan* is doin' alright.
From gCaptain:
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has joined its rivals Maersk Line and CMA CGM in announcing a new bunker fuel surcharge to be imposed on its customers to help recover additional costs associated with the 2020 global sulphur cap.
Starting January 1, 2020, new International Maritime Organization rules will require ships to use bunker fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 0.5%, compared with the current standard of 3.5%, unless they are equipped with so-called scrubbers to clean up sulphur emissions.
In order to prepare for the new rules, MSC announced Monday it will be introducing a new Global Fuel Surcharge as of January 1, 2019, in order to help customers plan for the impact.
MSC said it expects operating costs to rise in excess of $2 billion dollars per year as a result of the new rules.
“The new MSC Global Fuel Surcharge will replace existing bunker surcharge mechanisms and will reflect a combination of fuel prices at bunkering ports around the world and specific line costs such as transit times, fuel efficiency and other trade-related factors,” MSC said in a press release.
MSC’s announcement follows similar moves by Maersk Line and CMA CGM....MORE*The latest Lloyd's 100 Most Influential People in Shipping (Edition Eight, Dec. 2017) has the Aponte famiglia at #10, just behind the SaadĂ© family (CMA CGM) now led by Rodolphe after his father's death this summer, at #9.
If interested here's an ungated version of Edition Seven of the 100 Most Influential, for folks who don't subscribe via Maritime Cyprus.It's a year out of date but good background or a dandy prospect list.
The subscription makes a fine gift.
One more note, the gCaptain story links to their coverage of Maersk's and CMA CGM's estimates of the extra multi-billion dollar costs but didn't link to a couple other really big lines:
Shipping: "Hapag-Lloyd Expects USD 1 Bn in Extra Fuel Costs from 2020 Sulphur Cap"
Shipping: CEO of Third Largest Fleet Says "We're All Going to Go Bust".
