Regulation (EC) No 1726/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 417/2002 on the accelerated phasing-in of double-hull or equivalent design requirements for single-hull oil tankers
Date: 2003-07-22
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: International Maritime Organisation, international convention, international standard, oil pollution, prevention of pollution, tanker

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(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

REGULATION (EC) No 1726/2003 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 22 July 2003

amending Regulation (EC) No 417/2002 on the accelerated phasing-in of double-hull or equivalent
design requirements for single-hull oil tankers

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, and in particular Article 80(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (2),

Having consulted the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (3),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 417/2002 (4) establishes an acceler-
the
ated phasing-in scheme for
the application of
the
double-hull or equivalent design requirements of
Marpol 73/78 Convention to single-hull oil tankers, to
reduce the risk of accidental oil pollution in European
waters.

rules

similar

to ensure that

The Commission and the Member States should make
every effort
to those
contained in this Regulation amending Regulation (EC)
No 417/2002 can be established in 2003 at a worldwide
level, through an amendment of the Marpol Convention.
Both the Council and the Commission welcome the will-
ingness of
International Maritime Organisation
(IMO) to hold an additional meeting of the Marine Envir-
onment Protection Committee (MEPC)
in December
2003 to facilitate an international solution regarding the
accelerated phasing-out of single-hull oil tankers and the
introduction, in the short term, of a ban on single-hull
oil tankers carrying heavy grades of oil.

the

(3)

the age
The Community is seriously concerned that
limits for the operation of single-hull oil
tankers in
Regulation (EC) No 417/2002 are not sufficiently strin-
gent. Particularly in the wake of the shipwreck of the

(1) Not yet published in the Official Journal.
(2) OJ C 133, 6.6.2003, p. 97.
(3) Opinion of

the European Parliament of 4 June 2003 (not yet
published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 22 July
2003.

(4) OJ L 64, 7.3.2002, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC)

No 2099/2002 (OJ L 324, 29.11.2002, p. 1).

category 1 single-hull oil tanker ‘Prestige’ of the same
age as ‘Erika’
those age limits should be
further lowered.

(26 years)

The communication from the Commission to the
European Parliament and to the Council on the safety of
the seaborne oil trade proposed age limits of 23, 28 and
25 to 30 years respectively for three categories of single-
hull oil tankers, and the final end-dates of 2005, 2010
and 2015 respectively,
for such tankers. The initial
proposal from the Commission provided that the regula-
tion should apply to oil tankers from 600 tonnes dead-
weight and above. The limits eventually included in
Regulation (EC) No 417/2002 were, following negotia-
tions, less stringent on all accounts.

The communication from the Commission to the
European Parliament and to the Council on improving
safety at sea in response to the ‘Prestige’ incident stated
that the Commission intended to propose a regulation
prohibiting the transport of heavy fuel oil
in single-
hulled tankers bound for or leaving ports in the Member
States.

The Council conclusions of 6 December 2002 invited
the Commission to present as a matter of urgency a
proposal concerning an accelerated phasing-out of
single-hull
tankers and incorporating the condition
assessment scheme for tankers, regardless of the design,
from the age of 15 years. The Council further agreed
that heavy grades of oil should only be transported in
double-hull oil tankers.

The accelerated phasing-out of single-hull vessels will
lead to a significant increase in the number of vessels for
scrapping, and an effort should be made to ensure that
scrap vessels are processed in a way which is safe for
human beings and the environment.

The condition assessment scheme is designed to detect
structural weaknesses in ageing oil tankers and should
therefore, from 2005, apply to all oil tankers above the
age of 15 years.

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

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(9)

tanker disaster off

The European Parliament in its resolution on the Prestige
oil
the coast of Galicia of 21
November 2002 called for stronger measures that can
enter into force more rapidly, and stated that this new
disaster has again underlined the need for effective
action at international and EU level in order significantly
to improve maritime safety.

(10)

The Commission should be given a mandate by the
Council and the Member States to enable it to negotiate
the adoption of the provisions of this Regulation in the
IMO.

(11) As the rapidly increasing volume of oil

transported
through the Baltic Sea poses a threat to the marine
environment, especially during the winter season, oil
tankers entering or leaving a port or an offshore term-
inal or anchoring in an area under the jurisdiction of a
Member State in that region should have ice-strength-
ening of the ship's structure and propulsion machinery
which meets the requirements of the administration of
the Member State when the ice conditions require the
use of an ice-strengthened vessel.

(12)

It is essential to persuade third countries, particularly
candidate countries and countries which are neighbours
of the EU, to undertake to stop the use of single-hull oil
tankers.

(13)

(14)

Freight or container ships often contain heavy fuel oil
(HFO) as engine fuel in their bunkers, the quantity of
which may considerably exceed the cargoes of smaller
oil tankers. The Commission should submit a proposal
to the European Parliament and the Council as soon as
possible in order to ensure that for new ships bunker oil
for engine fuel purposes is also stored in safe, double-
walled tanks.

European shipyards have the necessary know-how to
build double-hulled tankers. The Commission and the
Member States should accordingly strive to ensure, by
means of the appropriate instruments and programmes,
that the increased demand for safe double-hulled tankers
resulting from this Regulation has a positive impact on
the Community's shipbuilding industry.

(15)

Regulation (EC) No 417/2002 should be amended
accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 417/2002 is hereby amended as follows:

1. In Article 1, the following shall be added:

‘, and to ban the transport to or from ports of the Member
States of heavy grades of oil in single-hull oil tankers.’

2. In Article 2, paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following:

This Regulation shall apply to oil tankers of 5 000

‘1.
tonnes deadweight and above:

— entering or

leaving a port or offshore terminal or
anchoring in an area under the jurisdiction of a Member
State, irrespective of their flag, or

— flying the flag of a Member State.

For the purpose of Article 4(3), this Regulation shall apply
to oil tankers of 600 tonnes deadweight and above.’

3. Article 3 shall be amended as follows:

(a) point 10 shall be replaced by the following:

‘10. “double-hull oil tanker” shall mean an oil tanker
equivalent design
meeting the double-hull or
requirements of Regulation 13F of Annex I
to
Marpol 73/78. An oil tanker meeting the provi-
sions of paragraph 1(c) of revised Regulation 13G
of Annex I to Marpol 73/78 is also considered to
be a double-hull oil tanker;’

(b) the following point shall be added:

‘14. “heavy grades of oil” shall mean:

(a) crude oils with a density at 15 °C of over

900 kg/m3 (*);

(b) fuel oils with a density at 15 °C of over
900 kg/m3 or a kinematic viscosity at 50 °C of
over 180 mm2/s (**);

(c) bitumen and tar and emulsions thereof;

(*) Corresponding to an API grade of less than 25,7.
(**) Corresponding to a kinematic viscosity of over 180

cSt.’

4. Article 4 shall be amended as follows:

(a) in paragraph 1, points (a) and (b) shall be replaced by

the following:

‘(a) for category 1 oil tankers:

— 2003 for ships delivered in 1980 or earlier,

— 2004 for ships delivered in 1981,

— 2005 for ships delivered in 1982 or later;

(b) for category 2 and 3 oil tankers:

— 2003 for ships delivered in 1975 or earlier,

— 2004 for ships delivered in 1976,

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— 2005 for ships delivered in 1977,

— 2006 for ships delivered in 1978 and 1979,

or leave a port or offshore terminal or anchor in an area
under the jurisdiction of that Member State, provided
that the heavy grades of oil are transported only in the
vessel's central tanks.’

— 2007 for ships delivered in 1980 and 1981,

5. Article 5 shall be replaced by the following:

— 2008 for ships delivered in 1982,

— 2009 for ships delivered in 1983,

— 2010 for ships delivered in 1984 or later;’

(b) point (c) shall be deleted;

(c) the following paragraph shall be inserted:

‘2.
Notwithstanding paragraph 1, oil tankers of cate-
gory 2 or 3 which are equipped only with double
bottoms or double sides not used for the transport of oil
and extending for the whole length of the cargo tank, or
with double-hulled spaces not used for the transport of
oil and extending for the whole length of the cargo tank,
but which do not meet the conditions for exemption
from the provisions of paragraph 1(c) of revised Regula-
tion 13G of Annex I to Marpol 73/78, may continue to
be operated after the date referred to in paragraph 1,
but not beyond the anniversary of the date of delivery
of the ship in the year 2015 or the date on which the
ship reaches the age of 25 years from its date of
delivery, whichever is the sooner.’

‘Article 5

Compliance with the condition assessment scheme for
Category 2 and 3 ships

Irrespective of its flag, a single-hull oil tanker above 15 years
of age shall not be allowed to enter or leave ports or
offshore terminals or anchor in areas under the jurisdiction
of a Member State beyond the anniversary of the date of
delivery of the ship, in 2005 for category 2 and category 3
ships, unless it complies with the condition assessment
scheme referred to in Article 6.’

6. Article 6 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 6

Condition assessment scheme

For the purposes of Article 5, the condition assessment
scheme adopted by MEPC Resolution 94 (46) of 27 April
2001, as amended, shall apply.’

(d) the current paragraph 2 shall be replaced by the

following:

7. In Article 8, the introductory phrase to paragraph 1 shall be

replaced by the following:

‘3.
No oil tanker carrying heavy grades of oil, irre-
spective of its flag, shall be allowed to enter or leave
ports or offshore terminals or to anchor in areas under
the jurisdiction of a Member State, unless such tanker is
a double-hull oil tanker.’

(e) the following paragraphs shall be added:

Oil

‘4.
tankers operated exclusively in ports and
inland navigation may be exempted from the obligation
under paragraph 3 provided that they are duly certified
under inland waterway legislation.

5.
Oil tankers with a deadweight of less than 5 000
tonnes must comply with the provisions of paragraph 3
no later than the anniversary of the date of delivery of
the ship in the year 2008.

6.
Until 21 October 2005 a Member State may, in
cases where ice conditions require the use of an ice-
strengthened vessel, allow ice-strengthened single-hull
oil tankers, equipped with double bottoms not used for
the transport of oil and extending over the entire length
of the cargo tank, carrying heavy grades of oil, to enter

By way of derogation from Articles 4, 5 and 7, the
‘1.
competent authority of a Member State may, subject to
national provisions, allow, under exceptional circumstances,
an individual ship to enter or leave a port or offshore term-
inal or anchor in an area under the jurisdiction of that
Member State, when:’

Article 2

The Presidency of the Council, acting on behalf of the Member
States, and the Commission shall jointly inform the IMO of the
adoption of this Regulation, whereby reference shall be made
to Article 211(3) of the United Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter
into force on the 20th day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

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This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 22 July 2003.

For the European Parliament

The President

P. COX

For the Council

The President

G. ALEMANNO