Americas News
U.S. Phaseout of Single-Hulled Tankers Comes into Effect
The U.S. phaseout of single-hulled tankers is complete, with the deadline having been January 1, 2015, trade association American Waterways Operators (AWO) has noted.
By now, all tankers and tank-barges will have made the switch to double hulls.
The policy had originally been instituted following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, which prompted the creation of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90).
The act gave shipowners 25 years to phase out single-hull tankers.
"Oil spills from tank barges have plummeted by 99.6 percent since enactment of OPA 90," said AWO CEO Thomas A. Allegretti.
"This outstanding safety record is all the more relevant today given the nation's energy renaissance and the vastly increased need for marine transportation of crude oil and petroleum products."
An earlier U.S. Maritime Administration study which would have questioned the wisdom of double hulls was cancelled in 2012 after facing wide opposition.
