Scrubber payback calculator
A scrubber lets a ship keep burning cheap high-sulphur fuel (HSFO) instead of compliant VLSFO. Whether it pays back turns on the VLSFO–HSFO price spread (how much dearer compliant fuel is), how much the ship burns, and how many days it trades. This sizes the payback for your assumptions.
| $60/t spread | 7.2 yr |
| $100/t spread | 4.3 yr |
| $140/t spread | 3.1 yr |
| $180/t spread | 2.4 yr |
| $220/t spread | 2.0 yr |
Payback = CAPEX ÷ (annual HSFO burn × spread, net of the scrubber’s own power/reagent opex), where the spread is the VLSFO−HSFO premium — how much dearer compliant fuel is, i.e. what the scrubber saves per tonne. A first-order screen — it ignores HSFO availability, the open- vs closed-loop discharge-zone restrictions, financing, resale/residual value, and the tightening sulphur-cap / carbon-pricing backdrop that erodes the HSFO advantage over a scrubber’s life. Track the live spread on bunker prices.