The European Parliament yesterday approved the Commission’s recommendation for an urgent ban on the transportation of heavy oil by single-hull tankers flying flags of member states, irrespective of destination, Greek daily Kathimerini reports.
Heavy oil is a type of crude oil which is very viscous and does not flow easily.
Initially, the Commission had introduced the ban to apply to transportation of heavy oil only to European Union ports, as a measure to fight sea pollution after a number of disastrous accidents.
It had exempted third country ports from the ban until 2015. The proposal approved by the European Parliament yesterday – after a report by Fernand Le Rachinel, a member of its Transport and Tourism Committee – abolishes this exemption.
Greece had disagreed with the expediting of the abolition of the exemption, arguing that it would lead 23 Greek-flagged tankers of this type to seek other shipping registers, and put the jobs of 300 Greek seamen at risk.
The rapporteurs of the measure, however, argued that in practice it would simply expedite by seven years the application of an already adopted decision, and that, in any case, the Greek-flagged vessels could carry other types of fuels.
“There seems to be no reason to suppose that if Greek tankers change flag, this will inevitably lead to a loss of jobs,” said Le Rachinel’s report.