Bulletin of the Society of Naval Architects of Japan

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In August of last year, the United States of America enacted the "Oil Pollution Act of 1990". This act was in response to several marine pollution accidents, most notable of which was the grounding of the "Exxon Valdez" in March 1989. Section 4115 of the act requires that oil tankers trading in U. S. territorial waters and contracted after June 30th 1990, must have double hulls. Such unilateral legislation has created an atmosphere of uncertainty among shipowners and shipbuilders whether ships constructed in accordance with the recent regulations will subsequently comply with international standards. It is acknowledged that despite comprehensive regulations from international agreements, oil pollution of the oceans by oil tankers continues to be a significant international problem. Today, the most actively discussed topic as regards reducing such pollution is the use of Single, versus Double Bottom/Double Sides/Double Hull arrangement. This has resulted in the erroneous belief that operational errors should be remedied by the application of new or revised structural requirements, and has created a public perception that the cause of oil pollution of the seas is due to inadequately designed crude oil carriers and that the Double Bottom/Double Sides/Double Hull design requirements appear to be inevitable. Before accepting such inevitability, it is prudent and necessary to identify both safety and environmental design features as well as operational requirements for the new generation of crude oil carriers. The U. S. legislation permits a mechanism by which promising alternatives may be considered. It must be appreciated, however, that it is impossible to legislate the risk of marine pollution out of existence. Carrying crude oil in bulk by ship is a service that has been in existence for more than a century. The most recent statistics show that more than 85 per cent of the accidents at sea that caused oil pollution, including that of the "EXXON VALDEZ," are due to human error. The demand to improve further safe transportation of crude oil by sea, has led to several proposed new designs. This paper examines the various proposed alternatives which will enhance environmental protection. Mr. Chairman: Gentlemen I would like to express my sincere thanks to the society for the opportunity to present to you today may thoughts on a subject to which I have devoted most of my working life, the design, construction and safe operation of oil tankers.

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