French Officials Demand Stricter Maritime Regulations
French Environment Ministry Officials have demanded tougher maritime laws as thick fuel oil from a tanker that split up one week ago edges closer to the country's Atlantic coastline. For the fourth day in a row, strong winds prevented navy vessels from pumping up scattered slicks of oil in the sea south of the Brittany coast. Officials said that maritime traffic laws must be strengthened. "One cannot approve of a system that uses old tubs, underpaid sailors and minimizes controls," one official was quoted as saying. The 25-year-old tanker Erika, carrying 25,000 tons of fuel oil, broke in two last Sunday in heavy seas. The bow and stern both sank on Monday, and experts estimate that between 8,000 and 15,000 tons of oil have escaped from the ship's various holds.
RINA Says Hull Crack Caused Erika's Doom
Italian ship safety inspector RINA, which passed the tanker that sank off France in December and caused an oil spill that polluted beaches, said the vessel broke up as a result of cracking of its hull. An internal inquiry into the loss of the 25-year-old Maltese-flag tanker Erika pointed to a small structural failure or leak low in the hull structure, the classification society said. Classification societies, which oversee ship safety standards, have come under fire since the accident. RINA said it believed it had acted correctly. However, the society did not gather information on eight sisterships to the Erika that had suffered difficulties that may have pointed to weaknesses in the ship. All of these ships suffered structural problems, three of them, other than the Erika, were serious.
RINA Says Hull Crack Caused Erika's Doom
RINA, which passed the tanker that sank off France in December, said the vessel broke up as a result of cracking of its hull. An internal inquiry into the loss of the 25-year-old Maltese-flag tanker Erika pointed to a small structural failure or leak low in the hull structure, the classification society said. "This was followed by cracking which eventually led to the collapse of the hull," RINA said. Erika's break up led to the pollution of French beaches and criticism that TotalFina, which chartered the ship, didn't take enough responsibility for the damage. Classification societies, which oversee ship safety standards, have also come under fire since the accident. In the hornet's nest of criticism that has ensued, RINA said it believed it had acted correctly.
