Double hulls have demonstrated time and again their effectiveness in preventing and minimizing oil spills from ships. The technology is superior to any other, and it is proven. In 1997, a barge collided with a double hulled tanker in the Port of Lake Charles. Although the tanker suffered a 400 square foot gash in its side, not one drop of its oil cargo spilled. In 1996, a double hulled tanker off the coast of France ran aground puncturing the outer hull in several places, but none of its oil cargo was spilled.
Examples abound demonstrating the effectiveness of double hulls.
Attached to my testimony are the titles of numerous studies and reports on the effectiveness of double hulls for your reference. Later that year, Congress acted to minimize and prevent future oil spills by mandating the phase-out of old, single hulled ships based on their age and weight and requiring that all ships have double hulls by 2015. Opponents argued that there was insufficient shipbuilding capacity in the United States to replace the U.S. flag fleet in 15 years. Shipbuilders countered with data showing that the entire Jones Act fleet of 150 tankers at that time could be replaced within eight years. Almost immediately following enactment of OPA-90, some oil companies and tanker operators sought to undermine the law.