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India's
Shipping ministry has decided to intervene and possibly
scrap the circular issued recently by the Director-General of Shipping (DGS)
banning ageing foreign-flagged oil tankers from entering Indian waters.
The ministry has called for comments from the DGS after it received
strong protests from the international tanker association Intertanko, global
tanker operators and domestic charterers, to the DGS's recent guidelines on
in-chartering of foreign flag tankers.
In its circular dated June 11, the DGS had stipulated an
age limit of 25 years for crude oil carriers, product tankers and chemical
tankers; and 30 years for gas tankers, regardless of their present
condition.
In addition, the circular insisted that all tankers above 20
years needed to have a Condition Assessment Programme 2 (CAP-2) rating for
hull, machinery and cargo equipment from the International Association of
Classification Societies. Clearly, the DGS was worried about the
environmental hazards from sub-standard foreign flag oil tankers calling at
Indian ports.
"The possibility of old single-hull tankers being diverted to
Indian waters in the wake of the stringent safety standards imposed in the
European Union, Singapore and Australia has become very real," said Sudhir
Rangnekar, director - liner shipping, with Shipping Corporation of India
(SCI). |
