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THE
government has rejected the plea of tanker operators to
extend the rule on double-hull vessels for the transport
of black oil to next year.
The
tanker operators’ groups also wanted the government to
spare several of their members with special permit
allowing them to transport persistent oil on single-hull
vessels from the daily penalty.
Transport Undersecretary Maria Elena Bautista said the
board of the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina)
decided to turn down the request of the Philippine
Petroleum Sea Transport Association and Association of
Tanker Owners of the Philippines in fairness to those
that invested time, effort and money to buy double hulls
and those that converted their ships to double hulls.
“Safety is still our priority,” Bautista told reporters.
She
added that Marina has given more options for the ship
operators and owners to settle the P5-million deposit
required against single-hull vessels. The government
will use the money for cleanup operations in case of
accidents that lead to oil spills.
From
an original escrow account in favor of Marina, the ship
operators and owners could now post a surety bond from
the Government Service Insurance System, or cash in the
bank, as well as a written guaranty from the oil
companies.
Most
ship owners and operators that were given a special
permit have opted for a P5-million callable surety bond
from Pioneer Insurance & Surety Corp. in favor of
Marina, the tanker groups said. They include Magsaysay’s
Batangas Bay Carriers Inc., Chelsea Shipping Corp. and
Petrotrade Philippines Inc.
The
authority allows ship operators and owners with
single-hull vessels to transport persistent oil, such as
crude, beyond the April 30, 2008, deadline provided that
the ships carry a special permit to operate.
Despite the special permit, the ship owners must pay a
fine of P25,000 a day on top of the P5-million bond. The
measure was deemed harsh by those operators who argued
they could not simply convert their vessels to double
hull, or buy a new vessel, to comply with the law for
financial reasons.
Marina
said the bond would serve as financial security in case
of an oil spill from single-hull vessels that carry
black oil.
Bautista also said Marina declined to budge from the
P25,000 penalty since the amount was already scaled down
from the original penalty of P50,000 per day.
Today,
there are more than 20 tankers in the Philippines that
move persistent oil. Majority of these have complied
with the double-hull requirement. Those that need
special permits are tanker-barges. |
