By an OGJ correspondent
PARIS, Apr. 8 -- At a recent meeting in Brussels, European Union transport ministers voted to ban all transportation of heavy fuel oil by single-hull tankers of more than 5,000 tons through EU ports, starting this summer.
Ministers also banned similar operations of single-hull tankers under the flag of any EU country in other parts of the world. The only exception is for smaller single-hull tankers of 600-5,000 tons used essentially for regional transport; those vessels will be allowed to operate until 2008.
The ministers classified heavy fuel oil according to density and viscosity and included bitumen, tar bitumen, and tar. The proposed ban stemmed from the sinking of the Erica off France's Brittany coast in 1999 and with the recent sinking of the Prestige off the Spanish coast.
The ruling will be submitted to the European Union Parliament, which has promised to ratify the measure in June for implementation in July.
The 15 EU ministers also decided to speed up the progressive elimination of single-hull tankers for transport of hydrocarbons. Single-hull tankers more than 23 years old and exceeding 20,000-30,000 tons will be banned in 2005.
Single-hull tankers built in 1982-96 with capacities of 5,000-20,000 tons will be banned by 2010. However, that ban will be pushed back to 2015 for tankers in this category with reinforced hulls.
The measures will be submitted to the International Maritime Organization at its Apr. 11 meeting for possible extension to tankers operating under flags other than European countries.
