The European Parliment has issued a press released with the following information

Quote

On Wednesday, 25 April 2007 the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, officially signed a European Parliament and Council Regulation that represents an important response to offshore tanker accidents and will lead to better protection of the seas and the environment.

Under the new regulation, oil tankers transporting heavy oils will only be allowed to fly the flag of a European Union member state if they are double hulled. In addition, regardless of what flag they are flying, only double hulled tankers will be able to enter member states’ harbours or anchor in their territorial waters.

“With this regulation, which will enter into force in a few weeks’ time in the member states of the European Union, an important step has been taken to protect the seas from dangerous oil pollution in the event of shipwrecks”, Hans-Gert Pöttering declared after the signing.

The regulation is directly applicable in all the Member States and, now that it has been signed, will enter into force on the twentieth day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Unquote

---

Member Alert is published by The Swedish Club as a service to members. While the information is believed correct, the Club cannot assume responsibility for completeness or accuracy.