RESOLUTION B3-0242 and 0257/93

Resolution on the accident of the 'Mærsk Navigator' in the Strait of Malakka

The European Parliament,

-having regard to its resolution of 21 January 1993 on the Braer tanker disaster,

A.whereas the collision of the Danish super tanker 'Mærsk Navigator', carrying over 250 000 tonnes of petroleum, with the Japanese tanker 'Sanko Honour' 60 miles off the coast of Sumatra on 21 January resulted in a spillage of some 20 000 tonnes of oil, caused an oil slick of over 50 kilometres and has endangered the natural protection areas of the Nicobar Islands,

B.whereas the unbroken series of serious tanker accidents - this being the sixth collision in eight months in this part of the world - indicates a severe lack of international safety regulations,

C.whereas with up to 2000 ships passing through the Strait of Malakka per day it is the most widely used waterway in the world,

D.whereas the particular shallowness of the Strait of Malakka combined with dangerous currents has caused a large number of accidents,

1.Regrets the ecological and material damage caused by the accident;

2.Calls for much greater stringency in applying international rules, particularly those of the MARPOL Convention;

3.Appeals to the Environment and Transport Councils to inquire into the Indian Environment Minister's criticism of the Danish Government's failure to provide support, and to prepare contingency plans for any future case of maritime emergency outside the territory of the Community where European ship ownership is involved;

4.Calls on the Member States and EPC to support Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in their plan to establish a compulsory pilot service in the Strait of Malakka;

5.Demands that the minimum water depth under the ship's keel in the Strait of Malakka be raised from 3.5 to 5 metres;

6.Welcomes the Environmental and Transport Councils' intention to improve Community safety regulations for maritime transport, especially their intention to establish a system of penalties and civil liabilities, but insists that the regulations have to be within Community and not IMO competence;

7.Asks the Council, the Commission and the Danish Government to draw up compensation arrangements for the states affected by the accident including

-coverage of reparation costs that will not be covered by the insurance companies

-financing of an environmental impact study of the accident;

8.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, EPC and the governments of Denmark, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and India.