South Korea will ban single-hulled oil tankers from its waters from 2011 to prevent oil spill incidents, according to its government.
The country’s Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said it plans to reduce the ratio of port calls by single-hulled tankers to 15% in 2010.
The number of single-hull tankers making port calls in South Korea has fallen from 53% in 2007 to 36% in 2008 and 22% in 2009, it said.
The ministry, referring to the IMO’s MARPOL regulations, said an international convention on preventing pollution from shipping calls for the banning of single-hulled tankers starting in 2011 or 2016.
MARPOL calls for the phase-out of single-hulled tankers by 2010, although some single-hull tankers will be allowed to continue operating until 2015 under the Condition Assessment Scheme.
