Deadlines for phasing out unsafe vessels

Date: 22/05/03

TRANSPORT ministers and MEPs have backed new deadlines that go further than an original European Commission proposal to speed up the phasing out of three categories of single-hull vessels from EU waters:

• 2005 - instead of 2007 - for 'category I' oil tankers over 23 years old and capable of carrying more than 20,000 tonnes, or other cargo in excess of 30,000 tonnes.
• 2010 - instead of 2015 - for 'category II' 20,000-tonne-plus oil tankers over 28 years old, and 30,000-tonne-plus cargo ships.
• 2010 - instead of 2015 - for category III (includes certain smaller vessels upwards of 5,000 tonnes). Some exceptions, such as a two-year transition period for ice-breakers in the Baltic Sea, would apply.