Brussels to ban single-hulled tankers

A total ban on single-hulled tankers carrying heavy fuel oil was ordered by Europe’s governments tonight.

Vessels plying the seas with crude oil and tar which could pollute coastlines will no longer be accepted in the territorial waters of the 15 EU member states, transport ministers announced in Brussels.

And they asked the European Commission to draw up proposals for refusing entry into EU ports and anchorages of such ships altogether – even those containing non-threatening cargoes.

Modern vessels used for transporting fuel oils have to have to be built with a double skinned hull to ensure that if the outer hull is pierced the inner hull will prevent any spill.

The move follows Commission pressure on governments to speed up new controls which are due in force next July to regulate substandard shipping.

The Commission said that if such measures were already in place, the disastrous oils spill from the “Prestige” which split in two off the Spanish coast and sank in The Bay of Biscay, would never have happened.

Deputy transport minister David Jamieson put Britain’s name to the new ban, and a government spokesman said: “We fully support this decision. We cannot stop these tankers using the seas beyond our borders, but we can stop them using EU waters.”

The proposals requested from the Commission will set out a timetable for extending the ban to single-hulled vessels carrying a range of other products across the world.

Earlier this week, the Commission published a proposed blacklist of 66 “very dangerous” substandard ships.

And Transport Commissioner Loyala de Palacio called on EU leaders meeting in Copenhagen next week to consider banning “once and for all“, the carrying of heavy fuel oil in single-hull oil tankers.

Tonight the Commission welcomed the transport ministers’ decision to act even more quickly.

Under current EU rules, at least 25% of single-hulled vessels entering European ports must be inspected, but the Commission’s latest port state control figures show that some countries barely manage the minimum – and France checked less than 10%.

Ireland checked 21% of vessels entering Irish ports – up on less than 15% in 2000.

The UK vetted nearly 28%, but the most monitoring was carried out by Italy, which checked 43% of vessels last year.

Now such vessels carrying heavy fuel, tar, bitumen and crude oil will be taken out of the equation altogether, allowing port inspectors to increase the proportion of other vessels inspected.