Alternative waste-treatment concepts keep entering the market, but the order books tell a clear story: conventional MARPOL incinerators are going strong, and shipowners choosing them are in good company.
Specifying onboard waste treatment for a newbuild is a decision that stays with the vessel for its entire lifetime. As new concepts promise cleaner or simpler waste handling, shipowners and managers naturally ask whether conventional incineration is still the safe and right choice, or at least a sensible backup to have onboard.
The world's largest shipbuilding market gives a clear answer. According to figures from TeamTec's Chinese partner, Nanjing Luzhou Machine Company (NLMC), more than 80 percent of the over 2,000 vessels contracted in China since the start of 2025 are specified with an incinerator. Together with NLMC, TeamTec has secured more than 800 incinerator orders for Chinese newbuilds so far this year.
For owners weighing their options, that makes a conventional incinerator the established industry choice.
Sludge capacity still matters
Lighter fuels, biofuels and better port reception facilities might suggest that the need to burn oily sludge onboard is fading. In parts of the Western newbuilding market, a larger share of vessels has moved towards solid-waste-only incinerators.
Yet not one of the incinerators ordered from NLMC and TeamTec for Chinese newbuilds this year is a solid-waste-only unit. Of the incinerators delivered in the first half of 2026, fewer than 2 percent were solid-waste-only versions.
The reason is practical. Owners still want the option to eliminate oily sludge onboard, efficiently and responsibly, without depending on shore facilities, expensive subcontractors or local authorities. TeamTec incinerators also have a dedicated burning mode that uses sludge as fuel when incinerating solid waste. With fuel prices on the rise, sludge-burning capability turns into a real return on investment. This is also why ship designers continue to make room for incinerators in new vessel designs.
Clean combustion by design
The IMO framework for marine incinerators sets clear limits, but performance within those limits varies between makers.
“The IMO concept is a good compromise,” says Ole Bulien, Head of Sales Incinerators at TeamTec. “The objective is to approach complete combustion with the least possible emissions of soot and CO, and to shock-cool the exhaust to minimize the conditions under which dioxins and furans can form.”
TeamTec incinerators achieve this through high chamber temperatures, good access to oxygen, and combustion that is continuously monitored and controlled by advanced algorithms. For operators, the result is predictable, low-emission waste treatment that meets the latest IMO MEPC resolutions.
When alternatives fall short
Alternative technologies, such as thermal decomposition and plasma units, are developed with good intentions. In practice, TeamTec's experience is that many of these installations struggle with frequent downtime or lack real waste capacity, and some are taken out of service after a short time. These systems also consume energy, which must come from somewhere onboard.
TeamTec has retrofitted conventional incinerators to replace several such units, including on vessels where every condition was in place for the alternative technology to work as intended. For an owner, an unproven system can mean a second investment, not a saving.
A proven choice available today
State-of-the-art conventional MARPOL incinerators built to the latest IMO MEPC resolutions will remain the safer and most environmentally sound choice for onboard waste treatment for decades to come. TeamTec incinerators are now also tested with biofuels.
For more information, contact us at incinerators@teamtec.no.
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