2015 means end of ships like Prestige

UNDER current global shipping rules laid down by the London-based International Maritime Organisation (IMO), single-hulled tankers must be phased out by 2015.

The IMO rules provide for some extensions to the 2015 deadline.

However, EU rules are far more strict. The EU has said no single-hulled tankers will be allowed to dock at EU ports from 2015, period.

The tanker regulations come under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) adopted by the IMO in November 1973.

The 2015 global timetable for accelerating the phase-out of single-hulled tankers was laid down by the IMO in April last year.

Delegates from the IMO’s 158 member states agreed to the new timetable adopted as part of measures introduced after the Erika tanker disaster off the coast of France in 1999.

Double-hulled tankers offer greater environmental protection from pollution in certain types of accident.

All new oil tankers built since 1996 must have double hulls.

Under IMO rules, individual states in which ships are registered can keep single-hulled ships afloat after 2015 providing they meet certain criteria.