DIVER SURVEY SHOWS NO OIL LEFT ABOARD BRAER

Weather in the Shetland Islands cleared Jan. 24, allowing divers to survey the wreckage of the Braer tanker, which ran aground Jan 5. There was no report on the volume of the bunker fuel the vessel was carrying on a voyage from Mongstadt, Norway, to eastern Canada. The cargo, purchased by Ultramar Canada Inc. as feedback for its 125,000 b/d St. Romuald, Que., refinery, amounted to 607,000 bbl of Gullfaks field crude from the Norwegian North Sea.

Feb. 2, 1993

Meantime, the European Commission's transport and environment ministers were examining the possibility of banning oil tankers from passing through environmentally sensitive areas.

EC ministers will meet in March to consider a forthcoming report on maritime safety. They expect to agree on priorities by June, said U.K. Transport Minister John MacGregor.

In addition, the executive committee of the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko) will meet in Washington, D.C., Feb. 24 to discuss tanker routing and fresh approaches to vessel traffic control.

Intertanko Chairman Andreas Ugland said, "Few would dispute that fast developing information technology and the example of other industries, including aviation, suggest that a fresh appraisal of maritime traffic routing and control could pay dividends in terms of safety and pollution prevention."