b'2.1 Its make or break with IMO 2020Ocean carriers must recover most of their additional fuel costs or the indus-try will take a turn from bad to worse.Cost recovery has already begun for IMO 2020. On September 1st Zeamarine, one of the largest breakbulk operators in the world, an-nounced a bunker adjustment policy related to IMO 2020the International Maritime Or-ganizations (IMO) regulation to limit maritime emissions. That made the Hamburg-based breakbulk and multipurpose carrier one of the first in the sector to implement a surcharge inPeter Buxbaum, AJOTan effort to recover additional costs associated with the IMO policy. Company executives saidThis article was originally published onNovember 25, 2019 in issue #698the adjustment is based on the difference between the costs of traditional heavy fuel oil and the marine gasoil to be used in compliance with IMO 2020.RTM Lines, an Ocean Transportation Intermediary (OTI) specializing in breakbulk cargo, has already started levying a bunker surcharge based on web-based bunker platform re-ports which will be provided along with the freight invoice, according to Richard Tiebel, the companys head of operations. The OTI reserves the right to adjust [the charges] at time of quotation, time of loading, and at time of discharge, he added.IMO 2020 poses an increase too significantfor carriers to absorb and stay operational.The new IMO regulation, which will enter into force on January 1, 2020, aims to reduce the sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions of the worlds 50,000 merchant ships by 80%. While a positive step for the environment, the IMO implementation will add significant additional costs for carriers, and, by extension, for shippers. Carriers have the option of complying with the reg-ulation in several ways, including burning alternative fuels and implementing technologies that reduce the sulfur content of heavy fuel oil emissions.Breakbulk Sitting on the SidelinesBreakbulk carriers have lagged behind container lines in implementing IMO-related in-creases. Maersk and Hamburg Sd both revised their bunker adjustment factors effective Jan-uary 2019, a full year ahead of the sulfur cap implementation. COSCO Shipping Lines intro-duced a new monthly-reviewed surcharge effective May 1st. Zim and Crowley were among the other steamship lines that announced rate increases in advance of the IMO requirements.Whether it is for breakbulk cargo, containers, or other cargo types, the general consensus is that IMO 2020 will increase shipping costs worldwide. Many ships will be burning more expensive fuel, while others will be retrofitted with new technologies such as scrubbers. The 2019 Collection Shipping Regulations 31'