Tag: Erika

On 12 December 1999, the Erika, a 25 year-old single-hull oil tanker, broke in two off France, polluting almost 400 km of French coastline and causing unprecedented damage to marine environment, claiming the title of one of the most major environmental disasters of recent years.

Erika trial brings European debate

France s top court upholds convictions over Erika oil spill

Today tankers are not a priority at IMO The evolution of the tanker shipping safety regime is currently in the midst of a quiet patch. In contrast to the 1990s and early 2000s, when oil pollution incidents like Exxon Valdez, Braer, Erika and Prestige had the various parties responsible for tanker shipping falling over themselves to get their house in order and tighten up the provisions governing tanker design, construction, operation and maintenance, today tankers are not a priority at IMO.They are not a priority for two reasons. First, the trying and complex issues of piracy and curbing ship emissions of harmful atmospheric pollutants are currently monopolising session time at the organisation. Second, and most importantly, the tanker industry managed to get its house in order as a result of those earlier incidents to the extent that the volume of oil entering the sea due to tanker accidents is now at historic lows.The key to achieving the startling improvements in the tanker safety record over the past decade has been the attitude of tanker operators and charterers. While these two principals appreciated that a new raft of regulations was coming as a result of the now-infamous accidents, they also knew ...