UAE to ban unsafe oil tankers

The UAE Government plans to ban single-hulled oil tankers from its shores by 2010, in a move to comply with international accords and strengthen its safety credentials as it prepares to unveil a new shipping registry. Badreya Ahmed al Dhahri, a director of marine affairs at the UAE National Transport Authority, said, "We are streamlining our regulations and we have made it clear that no single-hull tankers will be allowed to trade in the UAE after the 2010 deadline." The disastrous grounding of the single-hulled Exxon Valdez in March 1989, which spilt 10.8 million gallons of crude oil on pristine Prince William Sound in Alaska, ranks among the most visible reminders of the danger of transporting oil and gas supplies. In the hopes of preventing future disasters the International Maritime Organisation has declared a deadline to phase out single-hulled tankers by 2010. Afterwards, only sturdier double-hulled will be permitted, which are also generally newer and more fuel efficient. "The UAE is falling in line with the rest of the world, save for a couple of rogue nations in the Far East," commented Iain Cain, the acting chief executive of Gulf Navigation, one of the UAE's largest shipping companies. igale@thenational.ae