Intertanko Prepares To Mull EC Proposals
The tanker owners' organization Intertanko, said on Thursday it is ready to discuss proposals by the European Commission to keep ships in port during storms - a move that some fear will disrupt oil supply. The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency estimates that last year about 380 million barrels of crude sailed through the English Channel. Intertanko points out that neither the French Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot nor the EU Transport Minister Loyola de Palacio have yet specified what exactly they mean by extreme weather conditions. Nor have they said what types of ship or cargo they expect to hold back during storms. The British Meteorological Office says that during an average winter in the western English Channel, winds exceed gale force eight for 15 percent of the time.
GALILEO: 2008 or Bust
The European Union is on track to start its own satellite navigation and positioning system, Galileo, as it was earlier this year announced that the Council of Transport Ministers released the $44 million needed to develop Galileo, and at the same time adopted the regulation establishing the joint undertaking responsible for operating it. Galileo is being developed as a commercial alternative to the U.S. GPS system, and tentatively is scheduled to be up and running by 2008. While markets are varied, and much of the advantages are touted in terms of savings tot the airlines, the maritime sector, including offshore oil and gas exploration, has been targeted as a major market for the project.
EU Agrees to Accelerated Phase-Out of Single Hull Tankers
It now seems clear that an agreement on the Post-Prestige accelerated phase-out of single hull tankers, the ban on single hull tankers carrying heavy fuel oil and the wider introduction of CAS has been reached by the European Commission, the EU Member States, and the European Parliament. Everything is set for the adoption of the proposal in early June, keeping it on track to be in effect by July 1. In the meantime, the IMO is about to consider the EU's submission for similar regulations at an international level. Following the Council of Transport Ministers' s informal agreement, reached on March 27, the three institutions cooperated closely in order to facilitate the quick passage of the proposal through the legislative process.
