Revised phase-out schedule for single hull tankers enters into force

摘要

A revised schedule for the phasing out of single hull oil tankers and a new regulation banning the carriage of heavy grade oil in single hull oil tankers entered into force on 5 April 2005. The measures were adopted in December 2003 as amendments to Annex I of the MARPOL Convention, following the November 2002 sinking of the oil tanker Prestige off the Spanish coast. A revised regulation 13G of MARPOL Annex I brings forward the phase-out schedule for existing single hull tankers that was first established in 1992 and was subsequently revised in 2001 following the Erika incident. It specifies that tankers of single hull construction should be phased out or converted to a "double hull" according to a schedule based on their year of delivery. The double hull requirements for oil tankers are principally designed to reduce the risk of oil spills from tankers involved in low energy collisions or groundings.