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Recent Tanker Disasters Cause European Owners To Ease OPA90 Opposition The recent groundings and re- sulting old spills from the tankers Braer, off the Shetland Islands, and Aegean Sea, near the approaches to Gibraltar, are forcing European tanker owners to back-off from their adamant opposition to the U.S. Oil Pollution Act of1990 due to increased political and environmental pres- sure from their own countries. The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko) in particular has dropped its harsh rhetoric that had come to characterize European re- sponse to the U.S. legislation. Speaking at a recent meeting in the U.S., Intertanko's chairman, Andreas K.L. Ugland, stated: "The sea is our home and we must protect it.. .Intertanko fully accepts and sup- ports the principle of effective inter- national rules for improving the safety of the environment and sup- ports the environmental philosophy of OPA 90." Mr. Ugland is also head of the Ugland Group, an asso- ciation of shipowners based in Grimstad, Norway. The Braer and Aegean Sea tanker accidents in Eu- ropean waters, as well as the Maersk Navigator oil spill off of Indonesia, have generated local calls for much stricter regulations, including pro- posals for a double-hull law in Eu- rope similar to that of the U.S. Decision-making made easy - by MTU. If you're looking for a compact, high- performance propulsion system, the MTU solution is the obvious choice - thanks to an intrinsic blend of exceptional power and lightweight compactness. And, furthermore, without compromising quality, economy or longevity. So if you want a power plant that gives you room to spare, choose MTU. After all, that's what the designers of over 50% of the high-performance boats in the western world have done. MTU - The Propulsion Experts. MTU North America 10450 Corporate Drive Sugar Land, TX 77478-28 25 (800) 321-2688 National (713) 240-41 00 Texas llllu Deutsche Aerospace The International Maritime Or- ganization (IMO) and the European Commission (EC) are both offering recommendations for enhanced ma- rine safety. The IMO has begun an initiative to improve seafarer qual- ity and training, while the EC has proposed legislation that would re- quire its membership to fully sup- port greater IMO authority, enforce more stringent classification soci- ety and ship design standards, en- act tougher controls over ships stop- ping in European ports, modernize and standardize aids to navigation and ban tankers from environmen- tally sensitive areas. Marco To Design Oil Recovery Tug For Taiwan 4£ \ / / ( ®
