The Solent Protection Society has claimed a major victory in its campaign to prevent a serious oil spill in the area.
The Solent Protection Society has claimed a major victory in its campaign to prevent a serious oil spill in the area.
The society announced it “has basic understanding from both the oil companies operating in Solent waters that they will use only double hull tankers”.
There were fears that a collision in the Solent’s busy waters involving a single-hulled oil carrier, which the society claimed were less safe than double-hulled vessels, would prove calamitous for the entire region.
Isle of Wight MP Andrew Turner congratulated the society and said: “The Solent has always been a busy waterway and over recent years the number of larger cruise liners, containers and car carriers has increased significantly, which of course brings a higher risk of collision.
“There have been no oil movements in single-hulled tankers at all this year in the Solent, which must be good news for the local marine environment.”
BP stopped using single-hulled tankers some years ago but ExxonMobil responded to the SPS announcement by saying: “All tankers used by ExxonMobil affiliates, regardless of hull type, must pass rigorous quality vetting criteria.”
