Philippines to Ban Single-Hull Vessels
The Philippines will ban single-hull oil tankers from its waters from April, two years earlier than planned, after the worst oil spill in the country's history and a separate leak in South Korea. Vessels carrying "black" petroleum products such as crude oil and bunker fuel won't be allowed to dock at ports from April 1 without a double hull, said Transportation Undersecretary Len Bautista in a phone interview from Manila. The single-hull crude oil supertanker Hebei Spirit caused the worst spill in South Korea's history last month after it was struck by a crane causing it to lose 66,000 barrels of crude oil, about 1/3 the size of the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989.
South Korea to Ban Single-Hulled Tankers after Spill
Reuters reported that South Korea will ban single-hulled tankers from traveling in its waters by 2011, earlier than the international regulation that calls for a ban from 2015, Seoul's maritime ministry said. A single-hulled tanker was involved in South Korea's worst oil spill last month, leaking around 10,500 tons of crude oil after a sea-bound crane mounted on a barge punched holes in the tanker's hull. As of January, 43 per cent of the crude imported into South Korea was carried by single-hulled tankers. This is the first time the ministry has officially set a time frame for banning the tankers. The ministry had previously said it was aiming to phase out single-hulled tankers as soon as 2010.
Ocean Freight Shipping Rates on the Rise
After a downtrend in the freight shipping tanker market since the middle of 2007, the industry has seen nothing but rate increases in the last month. The cost of freight shipping can mean an increase in the cost of many consumer products, according to FreightBrokering.info, which is why it's so important to keep freight transportation costs down. There are many reasons why the costs of ocean freight shipping have increased. Indian Oil Corporation recently paid $9 million in freight transportation charges for shipping crude oil on a very large crude carrier from West Africa to Vadinar, India. The high freight rate was a result of oil firms scrambling to hire ships before the holiday season started, leading to a shortage of ships.
Commission Urged to Fit Black Boxes For Oil Tanker Safety
AMRIE (The Alliance of Maritime Regional Interests in Europe) last week presented a series of recommendations aimed at improving levels of oil tanker safety in response to recent Commission proposals on the safety of the seaborne oil trade. The AMRIE Paper calls on the Commission to lead the way in introducing requirements for Black Boxes to be fitted in all existing cargo ships, going beyond the IMO (International Maritime Organization) suggestion of new cargo ships only. AMRIE believes that the speedy introduction of Voyage Data Recorders to all vessels is imperative if the Commission is to achieve a 'Safety Culture' in Shipping. AMRIE…
Commission Urged to Mandate Marine
AMRIE (The Alliance of Maritime Regional Interests in Europe) will today present a series of recommendations aimed at improving levels of oil tanker safety in response to recent Commission proposals on the safety of the seaborne oil trade. The AMRIE Paper calls on the Commission to lead the way in introducing requirements for Black Boxes to be fitted in ALL existing cargo ships, going beyond the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) suggestion of new cargo ships only. AMRIE believes that the speedy introduction of Voyage Data Recorders to all vessels is imperative if the Commission is to achieve a ‘Safety Culture’ in Shipping. AMRIE…
EU Calls For Single-Hull Phase Out
European Union governments on Monday called for single-hull oil tankers to be phased out as part of their response to the Erika oil spill disaster. The EU wants to ban single-hull vessels like the Erika which ran aground off the northern French coast in December 1999 spilling some 8,000 tons of fuel oil into the sea to be banned at the latest by 2012. Transport ministers from the 15 EU countries agreed their common stance on Monday morning, in time to influence negotiations on the controversial ships at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) this week.
Italy To Ban Single Skin Tankers From 7 Ports
Italy plans to ban single hull tankers from seven port areas from April 23 to reduce risks of environmental damage, said an anonymous Environment Ministry official said. The official confirmed remarks by Environment Minister Willer Bordon in Genoa earlier this week that the government was preparing a directive aimed at improving safety standards. "This directive represents a notable leap in safety," Bordon said on the sidelines of a seminar on maritime oil traffic organized by local environmental groups. The ban will apply to the following seven port areas: a sea mammal sanctuary stretching from the upper Tyrrhenian Sea to the Ligurian Sea…
Single Hull Tanker Ban Could Send Freight Rates Soaring
When OPA 90 was introduced in wake of the Valdez accident, the stipulation that tankers trading in the U.S. must be double hulled was roundly panned throughout the world, as industry experts bemoaned the fact that one country have such a deciding impact on vessel design. How soon they forget. Ten years and a few tragic sinkings off European shores have let to Italy's sudden plan to ban single-hulled tankers from seven key port areas, a move which some contend will cripple a pipeline feeding oil to Germany from the Italian port of Trieste, a leading brokerage warned. "The ban will be felt in Germany and Austria," said Italy's largest brokerage Banchero Costa.
