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SKorea says will ban single hull tankers from 2010
SEOUL
Petroleumworld.com, Jan 08, 2008South Korea will close its waterways to single-hulled tankers from 2010, five years earlier than originally planned, following the country's worst oil spill, officials said Monday.
South Korea originally planned to phase out visits by the spill-prone vessels by 2015 but the spill last month prompted it to bring forward the ban, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said.
"We have decided to advance the timetable. All single-hulled tankers will be barred from entering our waters from 2010," a ministry official told AFP.
A drifting barge smashed into the 147,000-ton Hong Kong-registered tanker Hebei Spirit on December 7 in the Yellow Sea, holing it in three places. The single-hulled ship spilt more than 10,000 tonnes of crude oil.
The Hong Kong-registered tanker has been impounded until clean-up costs of more than 11 million dollars are paid.
Tens of thousands of police, troops and volunteers have staged a huge clean-up of the polluted shoreline but environmentalist say the damage could last for years.
International efforts have been underway to require oil tankers to be double-hulled.
Story from AFP
AFP 07 0617 GMT 01 08Copyright© 2007 Petroleumworld. All rights reserved.
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