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Maritime Industry: As U.S. Single-Hull Oil Vessels Are Eliminated, Few Double-Hull Vessels May Replace Them

File Language:
English


Details

  • Corporate Creators:
    United States. Government Accountability Office
  • Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Publication/ Report Number:
    GAO/RCED-00-80
  • Resource Type:
    Research Paper
  • Geographical Coverage:
    United States
  • Corporate Publisher:
    United States. General Accounting Office
  • Abstract:
    Ships and barges are a major link in the country's oil transportation network, both for transporting crude oil to U.S. refineries and for transporting refined oil products to market. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 made extensive changes designed to make these shipments environmentally safer. One of these changes was to phase out all shipment of oil cargoes in single-hull vessels in U.S. waters from 1995 through January 1, 2015, with the oldest and largest vessels generally being phased out first. The total number of U.S.-built vessels that were subject to the act's requirements is unknown. Coast Guard records do not indicate how many single-hull vessels had phase-out dates prior to October 1999 and had been removed from service. However, after January 1, 2015, only double-hull vessels may be used. Double-hull vessels are considered to be environmentally safer because their inner hull helps protect against oil spills if the outer hull is punctured. As of October 1999, 144 U.S.-built single-hull vessels larger than 5,000 gross tons were still certified to carry oil. The U.S. Coast Guard is responsible for ensuring that these vessels do not carry oil after their specific phase-out deadline has passed.
  • Format:
    PDF
  • Collection(s):
  • Main Document Checksum:
    urn:sha-512:7ead0cc313450eac3fec11536f8dccc5893c323a0eaa074de722bd44580a4ab583cb176bd5a1a10b35c8ae87a0220b8bf0e6b8b052c0272daa61f219ee00e5d8
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  • File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 331.00 KB ]
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