Vol. 429 No. 6
168 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for the Marine if he has had any input into the proposed construction of a safer European-design oil tanker; if he is being kept appraised by Euroyards concerning the construction of a safer European-design oil tanker; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The E3 Tanker project, as it is officially termed, began in 1990 when five leading European Shipyards (Astilleros Espanoles (Spain), Bremer Vulkan — and Howaldswerke — Deutche Werft (Germany), Chartiers de l'Atlantique (France), and Fincantiere (Italy) launched a co-operative effort for the design of a new tanker generation reflecting market requirements up to and beyond the year 2000. The project was presented at a conference on tanker safety in Brussels last month. The Commission and member states will be monitoring development of the design project with considerable interest.
The impetus for the project came from the concern at the number of accidental oil spills from tankers and the need to replace the ageing world tanker fleet. The tanker design is for a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), is 318 metres in length, 57 metres in breadth, 280,000 deadweight tonnes and has a carrying capacity of 2 million barrels of oil. The design surpasses both International Maritime Organisation and US Oil Pollution Act, 1990, requirements in having and extended double hull aimed at minimising the risk of breaching cargo tanks in the event of collision or grounding.
The design of the project aims to fulfil three key requirements: to provide an extremely high level of protection against accidental and operational pollution of the seas; to be competitive in capital and running costs when compared with other alternative designs in the market; and to utilise advanced technology together with European workmanship.
