Page 30: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 1994)

Tanker Technology

OPA '90 Implementation

Single-Hull Retrofit

Regulations

The OPA '90-mandated retrofit regulations for single-hull vessels were further delayed recently when a report from Herbert Engineering

Corp., a San Francisco consultancy, surprisingly called into question ba- sic assumptions behind the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding retrofitting single-hull tankers of more than 5,000 gt with protectively-located non-oil spaces (PL/S). The report on Probabilistic

Oil Outflow Analysis concluded that the PL/S would not increase envi- ronmental safety but could actually increase oil outflow in the event of a collision, and at significant cost to owners.

The USCG is currently consider- ing a "three-prong approach" to the situation: • Expediting the implementation of non-controversial elements of the

NPRM — requiring emergency lightering equipment and that for- eign-flag vessels report their Inter- national Maritime Organization (IMO) international number in the

Advance Notice of Arrival report. • New rulemaking to include op- erational issues after identifying op-

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Circle 250 on Reader Service Card erational measures some owner/op- erators have implemented that may reduce casualties, as well as ex- panding regulations to include more tank vessels, and converting some

Navigation and Vessel Inspection

Circulars into regulations. • A supplemental NPRM and re- vised Regulatory Analysis regard- ing structural measures and hydro- statically balanced loading (HBL).

Vessel Response Plans

On Feb. 4,1994, the USCG approved the first company vessel oil spill response plan required by OPA '90.

The first company approved was

Naess Shipping B/V of Holland; the first domestic company approved was Coastal Towing of Houston,

Texas. Capt. Michael J. Donohoe, branch chief for Headquarters' Ma- rine Environmental Protection Di- vision, said the USCG was pres- ently processing more than 1,700 plans for more than 7,000 vessels, and expected additional approvals in the near future.

The USCG continues to receive five to eight plans per week, and anticipates completing its review of the vessel spill response plans al- ready being processed by the end of

August 1994.

National & Area Contingency

Area Contingency Plans must ad- dress requirements of the National

Contingency Plan (NCP), improve- ments upon which OPA '90 man- dated. Reportedly, all are approved or pending approval.

Committees created to draw up the plans have reportedly identified their areas' sensitivities and struc- tured response priorities based on them. The EPA, the lead agency for the NCP, published the NCP pro- posed rule on October 22, 1993.

Discharge Removal Equipment

OPA '90's requirement for the car- rying of pollution discharge equip- ment found its way into an Interim

Final Rule (IFR) published Decem- ber 22, 1993, requiring sorbents, containers to hold recovered waste, deck-cleaning emulsifiers, protec- tive clothing, at least one non-spark- ing portable pump with hoses and scupper plugs.

Double Hulls

An IFR on double-hulling all vessels operating in U.S. waters was pub- lished August 12, 1992. OPA '90 requires all vessels carrying oil in bulk cargo to have double hulls by 2015 via a phasing-in process. The

IFR provided technical standards for double-hulling vessels that OPA '90 itself did not, enabling the ship- ping and shipbuilding industries to make the provision a reality. Issues still to be settled are the Environ- mental Assessment, the definition of oil, and the IMO Marine Environ- ment Protection Committee's rec- ommendations regarding MARPOL amendments dealing with existing vessels.

Studies

Three of five major studies were submitted to Congress for approval (Continued on page 35) 32 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News