PARLIAMENTARY BILL INTRODUCED BY MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT:

CICCIOMESSERE, BOTTA, TESTA ENRICO, PIERMARTINI, LANZINGER, FAGNI, GALLI, FILIPPINI, TESSARI, RUBINACCI, SAPIO, DONATI, ALAGNA, MILANI, SPINA, BOSELLI, CICERONE, ANGELONI, ROCELLI, RONCHI, LORENZETTI PASQUALE, SANFILIPPO, SERAFINI MASSIMO, NICOTRA, CERUTTI, MAZZA, D'ADDARIO, GOTTARDO, BONINO, CALDERISI, DE JULIO, NEGRI, STANZANI GHEDINI, ZEVI

Introduced September 12, 1991

ABSTRACT: The following measures are suggested for oil tankers: restriction of standing time in roadsteads; restriction of maximum deadweight carrying capacity; compulsory double body; compulsory inert gas system; construction of reception facilities and facilities for the processing of ballast and washing water; stricter controls; qualification of personnel and regulation of working conditions.

(CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES - 10TH LEGISLATURE - DOCUMENT No. 5956)

HONOURABLE COLLEAGUES ! -- The latest, tragic accidents involving the oil tankers Agip Abruzzo and Haven are the demonstration of the insufficiency of some of the measures in force on security of navigation, and have rekindled the problem of integrating and updating the regulations for the prevention of pollution caused by ships and especially by oil tankers, in the Mediterranean.

It should be underlined that the interventions on security measures should concern not only the prevention of accidents proper, but also of other forms of voluntary oil pollution. It is estimated that approximately 20% of the oil pollution related to the maritime traffic in the Mediterranean is caused by accidents, whereas most of the oil or of the oily residues spilled into the Mediterranean is released intentionally on the one hand by oil tankers, following operations of tank washing and discharge of ballast water, on the other by the majority of ships through the discharge of bilge water into the sea. Over the last years, the latter form of pollution has been on the increase in percentage compared to the former.

This is why the most urgent interventions should concern:

1) the restriction of standing time in roadsteads for oil tankers:

2) the restriction of the maximum deadweight carrying capacity of oil tankers;

3) compulsory double body for oil tankers:

4) compulsory inert gas system for oil tankers;

5) construction of reception facilities and facilities for the processing of ballast and washing water;

6) controls;

7) personnel qualification and working conditions.

As far as the first point is concerned, it is necessary to restrict the standing time in roadsteads to avoid any risks of collision. Many companies are accustomed to having their ships stand with a full cargo of oil for long periods, waiting for the most appropriate moment to sell their cargo, thus creating a permanent danger for maritime traffic. It is suggested that the standing time be strictly limited to operations for the loading and unloading of oil.

As far as the second point is concerned, super oil tankers with a deadweight carrying capacity of as much as 600.000 tons represent a danger, both because of the quantity of oil which they could release in the event of an accident, and because of their limited manoeuvrability.

It is therefore suggested to restrict the maximum deadweight carrying capacity of oil tankers which may operate in the high-risk areas of the territorial waters to 250.000 tons.

As far as the third point is concerned, it should be noted that the current regulations prescribe only a partial separation (from 20% to 45% of the body's surface) between the tank which contains the oil and the sides or the bottom of ships built after 1980. Older ships lack even this partial security measure. This means that for the majority of the ships that circulate in the world, the oil is completely or mostly in direct contact with the body, and that therefore every accident producing a leak is bound to cause the outflow of the crude oil. According to a Coast Guard USA report, of 30 strandings of oil tankers occurred between 1969 and 1973, as many as 96% of the oil outflows might have been avoided had the ships been equipped with a double bottom.

Moreover, the absence of ballast tanks separating the body from the cargo tanks forces the oil tankers, after having unloaded the crude oil, to fill these same tanks with sea water in order to acquire a trim suitable for navigation. The majority of oil-related sea pollution is caused by the discharge of this water together with the oily residues on re-loading the ship.

Two regulations are therefore suggested, for new ships and for existing ships. For the first, it is suggested that the entire length of the cargo tanks be protected by ballast tanks or spaces that are in any case not designed to contain oil.

We moreover suggest other construction parameters which could reduce to minimum the danger of pollution in the event of a collision or stranding.

For existing ships, it is suggested that by 31 December 1999, they no longer be authorized to operate in territorial waters if they do not fulfil the security requirements prescribed for new ships.

As far as the fourth point is concerned, it should be noted that the risk of fire is closely linked to the existence and to the efficiency of the inert gas system. Precisely the two accidents involving the Agip Abruzzo and the Haven have proven the importance of such system, which keeps the tanks containing the oil constantly saturated: in the first case, despite the tremendous collision and the fact that the oil which flowed out of the leak took fire, all the other tanks did not explode thanks to the efficiency of the inert gas system; in the second case, on the contrary, a first fire immediately caused the whole cargo to catch fire, probably owing to the inefficiency of the inert gas system.

As fas as the fifth point is concerned, which concerns the greatest source of oil pollution, it is suggested to make it compulsory to equip ports and terminals with facilities for the collection and processing of ballast and washing waters.

As far as the sixth point is concerned, it is suggested to enforce two forms of control, a direct and periodic control on the ships that need to carry out loading and unloading operations, and an indirect control on the traffic of oil tankers. The former aims at guaranteeing that the ships that operate in the territorial waters respect the current international regulations, especially as far as the efficiency of the inert gas system and the thickness of the plate is concerned. The second form of control aims at the achievement of a system of maritime traffic control similar to the air traffic one, enabling to monitor the movement at sea of the oil products, to carry out assistance on the routes and in the standings, to devise safety measures for high-risk ships, to warn the ships in case of danger of collision or stranding and to intervene rapidly in case of accidents.

The delicate and complex chapter of the adequacy of the crew with respect to the ever more sophisticated and automatized technologies which for the most part govern modern ships has also been treated. The increasing automatization of the main functions of the ships enables ship constructors to reduce the crew on board. However, the crew does not always master the ship's equipment.

The excessive length of the shifts may further increase the risk of underrating the dangers.

Regarding this problem, it is suggested to issue a series of decrees which should establish, among others, the conditions and the areas in which the ships may operate with an automatic pilot, the maximum length of the shifts and the minimum qualifications of the crew in relation to the type of ship.

It is suggested that a survey be made on the effectiveness of the current measures, in order to propose further modifications both on a national and on an international basis. Article 11 of the present bill contains modifications of the current regulations of law No. 979 of 1982 for the protection of the marine environment, introducing, among others, pecuniary sanctions against transportation companies, regardless of the hypothesis of contributory negligence on the part of the ships, on the basis of the principle of objective responsibility related to the exertion of a hazardous entrepreneurial activity.

Article 12 prescribes that not only the oil tankers with a dead weight carrying capacity of over 2.000 tons, as established by the International Convention on tort liability for damages caused by oil pollution, adopted in Brussels on 20 November 1969, but also tankers with a deadweight carrying capacity of less than 2.000 tons must fulfil the requirements of financial solvency of the obligations for the payment of damage and the payment of the pecuniary sanctions (including the new administrative sanction introduced by article 11) following a sea accident or the outflow of oil into the sea. The bill we are submitting to the judgement of Parliament is based on the U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990, implemented after the accident in Alaska involving the oil tanker Exxon Valdez, and assimilates the progressive phasing provided for the banning of navigation in territorial waters for old ships. With this we intend to contribute to uniforming the national legislations on the subject and stimulate the revision, in a m

ore restrictive sense, of the international conventions for the prevention of pollution from ships. The proposers are aware of the fact that the problem of sea pollution, especially of the Mediterranean, cannot be solved through unilateral decisions but only through international conventions binding all the countries that have an outlet on this sea.

The bill was drawn up thanks to the precious advice and contribution of engineer Carlo Conti and of the Chamber Research Service.

PARLIAMENTARY BILL

ART. 1.

(Standing time of oil tankers in roadsteads).

1. In order to reduce the danger of oil outflow into the sea, the harbormaster has the duty, for the regulation of the operations prescribed by article 62 of the navigation law, to authorize the standing in the roadstead of oil tankers only for periods strictly connected to the waiting time for the completion of loading and unloading operations.

ART. 2.

(Limitations in the deadweight carrying capacity of oil tankers).

1. As from 31 December 1992, it is prohibited for oil tankers with a deadweight carrying capacity of more than 250.000 tons, to station and operate in the areas of the Italian territorial waters which the Minister for the Environment, after having consulted the Minister of the Merchant Marine, has declared to be, through a decree, a high-risk marine area owing to the special naturalistic and environmental value of the site, to the existence of dangers for the navigation, to the existence of settlements in the immediate vicinity and of any other reason which calls for a reduction of the risk connected to the maritime transport of oil.

ART. 3.

(Security measures relative to the construction of new ships).

1. In order to increase the security of maritime navigation, the oil tankers with a deadweight carrying capacity of more than 600 tons and flying the Italian flag, or in any case operating in the Italian territorial sea, the contract of construction of which has been signed after 31 December 1992, or, in the absence of this, the keel of which has been designed or built until a subsequent stage of construction, or the delivery of which has occurred after 31 December 1992, or which have been the object of major transformation works, are subjected, with the exception of the field of application of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, adopted in London on 2 November 1973 and ratified with law No. 662 of 29 September 1980 and subsequent modifications and integrations, to the application of the following regulations.

2. The provisions contained in commas 3 and 6 apply also to the existing ships having a deadweight carrying capacity of 3.000 tons, which are subjected to the regulations contained in regulation 13E of Annex I of the convention mentioned in comma 1.

3. The tanks containing hydrocarbons must be protected, for their entire length, by ballast tanks or by spaces which are not designed to contain mineral oil, on the basis of the provisions of the enclosed chart A.

4. The double bottoms or spaces prescribed by letter b) of chart A may be dispensed with, at the conditions established by the enclosed chart B.

5. Methods of design and construction of oil tankers other than those prescribed in chart B may be accepted as alternative to the requirements prescribed in chart A, provided such alternative guarantee the same level of protection against oil outflow in the event of collision or stranding, and are approved by the Ministry of Merchant Marine on the basis of the guide for such approvals, developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

6. Every oil tanker with a deadweight carrying capacity of 20.000 tons or more must fulfil the requirements of stability in the case of flooding, as prescribed by regulation 25 of Annex I of the above International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, with the following hypothesis of damage due to the grazing of the bottom, in addition to those prescribed by regulation 22 of the same Annex I:

a) longitudinal extension: 0,75 L from the ship's front perpendicular;

b) transverse extension: B/3 in any part of the bottom;

c) vertical extension: notch of the outer body.

7. Every oil tanker having a deadweight carrying capacity of less than 3.000 tons must:

a) be equipped with a double bottom, in conformity with the provisions of letter b), No. 2) of chart A, taking into account that the height can in no case be inferior to 760 mm;

b) be equipped with cargo tanks the capacity of which may not exceed 700 cube metres.

8. Oil products should not be loaded into tanks or cases which extend forward of the bulkhead, installed in conformity with regulation II-1/II of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea of 1974, contained in law No. 313 of 23 May 1980 and following modifications and integrations. An oil tanker which, according to the above regulation, is not required to be equipped with a bulkhead, should not load oil products in tanks or cases that extend forward of the transverse section where the bulkhead should be installed if the above regulation were applied.

9. In approving the design and the construction of oil tankers which must be built in conformity with the provisions of the present article, the Administrations should devote special attention to the general aspects for security, taking into account also the accessibility to the tanks or side cofferdams and to the double bottoms for their inspection and maintenance.

10. The maximum length of the cargo tanks prescribed by regulation 24 of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, comma 1, considering that a length of 10 metres may be accepted in any case, should not exceed any of the values prescribed by the enclosed chart C.

ART. 4.

(Adjustment of existing ships).

1. The provisions of the present article apply to oil tankers flying the Italian flag or in any case operating in the Italian territorial sea which have a deadweight carrying capacity greater or equivalent to 3.000 tons, and which have been built, or the keel of which has been designed, or which have been delivered before 31 December 1992 and re-included in the following categories:

a) oil tanker which does not fulfil regulations 13 and 24 of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships;

b) oil tanker which must fulfil regulation 24, but which does not fulfil regulation 13 of the Convention mentioned in letter a);

c) oil tanker which is considered new in application of paragraph 6, but existing according to the provisions of paragraph 27 of regulation 1 of the convention mentioned in letters a) and b);

d) oil tanker which is considered new in application of paragraph 26 of regulation 1 of the above mentioned Convention, but which is not included in those listed in comma 1 of article 3.

2. The oil tankers with construction characteristics which do not fulfil, in terms of minimum distances of the tanks from the sides and from the bottom of the ship, the provisions of article 3, may be authorized by the Ministry of Merchant Marine:

a) to continue their activity for an unlimited period of time, if the above mentioned distances fulfil the regulations relative to the location of the cargo tanks, in conformity with the international regulations regulated by the IBC Code for type 2 ships;

b) to continue their activity for a limited period of time, if the side tanks which concern at least 30% of the surface of the body are used for clean or segregated ballast by 31 December 1994, according to the provisions of regulation 13E of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, and if the tanks lacking a double bottom are not loaded beyond the point of hydrostatic equilibrium to the bottom of the tank between the cargo level and the sea level, or if they operate with the "underpressure method", and if, respectively, the ships listed in letters a) and b) of comma 1 by 31 December 1997, the ships listed in letter c) of comma 1 by 31 December 1998, and the ships listed at letter d) of comma 1 by 31 December 1999, makes themselves conform to the provisions of article 3.

3. In alternative to the provisions of comma 1 and 2, the Ministry of Merchant Marine may consider the other technical solutions relative to the security of the tanks, if they have been judged to offer the same level of safety against the accidental outflow of mineral oil by the IMO, as equivalent.

ART. 5.

(Inert gas fixed system).

1. As of 31 December 1992, every oil tanker with a gross tonnage of more than 500 tons and equipped for the transport of mineral oil with a flash point (with closed tank) not exceeding 60· C, operating in the navigable waters subjected to the Italian jurisidiction and called "high-risk areas" by the Ministry of the Environment, must be equipped with a fixed inert gas system to protect the cargo tanks which fulfils the technical requirements prescribed by regulation 16 of Chapter II-2 of the annex of the above mentioned International Convention, at comma 8 of article 3.

ART. 6.

(Reception facilities and facilities for the processing of oily ballast water).

1. As from 31 December 1995, it is prohibited for oil tankers to dock for the loading of mineral oil, with the exception of oil tankers equipped with a segregated ballast system which fulfils regulation 13 of the Convention listed in letter a) of comma 1 of article 4, in the terminals or ports which do not dispose of suitable reception facilities and facilities for the processing of sludge and of ballast or washing water.

2. The Minister of Merchant Marine promotes and regulates, through a decree to be issued within 60 days of the entry into effect of the present bill, the constitution of a compulsory consortium for the construction of the facilities for the processing of sludge and of ballast or washing water, which the producers and distributors of mineral oils and of the maritime companies which operate in the sector of oil transport in Italian ports will take part in. The consortium benefits of the contributions paid by the oil tankers which dock in the ports, calculated in percentage to the commercial value of the cargo according to the criteria laid down by the Minister of Merchant Marine.

ART. 7.

(Controls).

1. Operations of loading and unloading of oil in the Italian territorial waters on the part of oil tankers with a gross tonnage of over 500 tons are subordinated to the positive outcome of an inspection on the part of the competent maritime authorities, aimed at verifying, according to the procedures prescribed by resolution No. 542 adopted by the IMO on 17 November 1983, the respect of the provisions contained in the present bill.

2. In any case, for oil tankers equipped with an inert gas system for cargo tanks, in conformity with the current international regulations or in conformity with article 5, the following must be ascertained:

a) the pressure of the inert gas measured in the principal collector below the blower be greater than 100 mm of column of water;

b) the oxygen contents in the cargo tanks be inferior to 8%;

c) the thickness of the plates of the main deck of oil tankers flying a foreign flag and older than 15 years, measured within 0,25 at the middle, by a transverse section with holes such as hatches for washing or expansion casings, must not have undergone a reduction greater than 25% of the initial thickness.

3. Greater reduction values shall be analysed case by case, after the presentation of the calculation of the longitudinal modulus of resistance, established on the basis of the data collected during the last special visit carried out by the classification register in which the ship is classified in.

4. The inspection may be dispensed with if a suitable certificate is presented on the part of the Ministry of Merchant Marine or of the corresponding authorities of the countries that are part of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, guaranteeing the that a similar inspection has been carried out no more than one year previously with a positive outcome.

5. The maritime authorities may order an inspection, despite the existence of a certification conform to comma 4, if there are grounded reasons to believe that the ship does not fulfil the requirements of the present bill and is in any case dangerous for navigation.

ART.8.

(Control of the maritime traffic).

The Ministry of Merchant Marine, within a year from the entry into effect of the present bill, sees to the construction of a radar system for the control of the maritime traffic, route assistance, regulation of standing in the roadstead, the access and the navigation in the ports which, in relation to the area's degree of environmental risk, danger of navigation, and volume and classification of the maritime traffic, enables to control the identity of the ship, its position with respect to the coast and to the sea area which is dangerous for the navigation, the congruence of the route followed with respect to the assigned one or compulsory one in relation to type of sea, the cruising speed and the speed of approach to the port, to know exactly and at all moments the movements of the ships, to assist the ships that need special attention, to rapidly activate the rescue means and the means for the prevention of accidents at sea, and all that which is prescribed with a decree of the Minister of Merchant Marine,

in conformity with the existing systems for air traffic.

ART. 9.

(Implementation decree).

1. Within a year from the entry into effect of the present bill, the Minister of Merchant Marine issues a decree for ships designed for the transport of oil, in order to establish:

a) the minimum requirements for the size of the body's structures;

b) the minimum requirements for the alarm facilities for excess of cargo level, and for the systems for the monitoring of the pressure and of the concentration of the oxygen contents in the cargo tanks;

c) the conditions and the areas in which the ships may operate with the automatic pilot;

d) the maximum length of the shifts of continuous work for the crew at sea;

e) the number and the minimum requirements for the crew at sea.

ART. 10.

(Study on the security of navigation).

1. Within six months from the entry into effect of the present bill, the Minister of Merchant Marine will start a research aimed at establishing whether the existing laws and regulations are apt to guarantee the security of navigation of the ships which transport oil.

2. In carrying out the study prescribed by comma 1, the Minister of Merchant Marine will need to:

a) ascertain the adequacy of the crews of the oil tankers;

b) judge the validity of the qualifications and training of the crew of the oil tankers;

c) evaluate the capacity of the crews of the oil tankers to carry out emergency interventions to prevent ot eliminate an outflow of oil;

d) evaluate the conformity of the apparatuses and of the navigations systems installed on the oil tankers;

e) evaluate and test the electronic devices for the indication of the position and for their location, to be installed on board the oil tankers; evaluate the minimum performances of the apparatuses and establish the requirements for such apparatuses on board the oil tankers;

f) evaluate the adequacy of the navigation procedures in different operative conditions;

g) evaluate in which areas of the territorial waters the navigation of oil tankers should be banned or restricted;

h) evaluate whether the provisions on the subject of inspections and the structures prepared are adequate;

i) calculate the size, the capacity and the nationality of the oil tankers which operate in the territorial waters on average;

l) evaluate the degree of correspondence of the Italian regulations concerning security of maritime navigation to the conventional regulations endorsed by Italy, and evaluate the speed of reception of such conventional regulations in the Italian legal system.

3. The Minister of Merchant Marine forwards a report on the findings of the study prescribed by commas 1 and 2 and on the proposals to advance in international fora to reduce the risk of oil pollution to Parliament, within two years of the entry into effect of the present bill.

ART. 11.

(Modifications to law No. 979 of 31 December 1982).

1. Comma 1 of article 16 of Law No. 979 of 31 December 1982 is replaced by the following:

"Within the limits of the territorial waters and of the internal maritime waters, including ports, it is prohibited for all ships, without distinction of nationality, to spill or cause the outflow of oil or oil compounds, sludge, ballast or washing water of oil tankers, as well as the other substances which are harmful for the environment listed in list "A" enclosed to the present law".

2. The following is inserted after article 20 of Law No. 979 of 31 December 1982:

"ART. 20-bis - 1. The company carrying out an activity of transport of oil to which the commander of a ship flying the Italian flag belongs, who violates the provisions of article 16 or the international regulations prescribed by article 17, or the commander of a ship flying a foreign flag who violates the provisions prescribed by article 16, regardless of the hypothesis of negligence prescribed by article 29, must, as objective responsibility, pay a pecuniary administrative sanction corresponding to five times the commercial value of the cargo transported. The proceedings of the sanctions is given to the compulsory consortium for the construction of the facilities for the processing of sludge and ballast and washing waters established at the initiative of the Minister of Merchant Marine".

ART. 12.

(Financial measures for the safeguard of the sea from oil pollution).

1. With the exception of the provisions established in article VII of the International Convention on tort liability for the damage caused by oil pollution, adopted in Brussels on 29 November 1969, and ratified with Law No. 185 of 6 April 1977, the exercise of the activity of transport of oil in the Italian territorial waters on the part of oil tankers with a deadweight carrying capacity of less than 2.000 tons is allowed only to those companies that prove their financial solvency, direct or ensuing from relations of guaranty on the part of a third party or from insurance contracts, sufficient to guarantee the solvency of the obligation to pay the damage caused to third parties and to the environment as a result of an outflow of oil as well as of the obligations ensuing from the application of the sanctions prescribed by article 20 and to the pecuniary sanction prescribed by article 20-bis of Law No. 979 of 31 December 1982. For this purpose, the companies provide suitable documentation to the competent mari

time authorities, which may be replaced by a self-certification declaring the possession of the financial requirements provided by the lawyers that represent the company.

2. The financial capacity prescribed by comma 1 is calculated, by way of presumption, for 1992, to correspond to the sum of L.20 billion, and is updated every year with a decree of the Minister of Merchant Marine with the agreement of the Minister for the Environment, to be issued within 30 January of each year.

3. In cases of financial insolvency, the lawyers that represent the companies that have provided self-certifications may be penally prosecuted in conformity with the current regulations. The company, with the exception of the obligations of payment of damage and of the payment of the sanctions prescribed by Law No. 979 of 31 December 1982, will be subjected to the administrative sanction of the interdiction of the exertion of the activity in the Italian territorial waters for a period ranging between three and ten years, and a pecuniary administrative sanction corresponding to half the size of the presumed financial capacity prescribed by comma 2.

CHART A.

(Art. 3, comma 3).

BALLAST TANKS AND PROTECTION SPACES.

a) The side tanks or spaces must cover the entire height of the ship's body or from the main deck to the ceiling of the double bottom, and must be positioned in such a way that the cargo tanks be located toward the interior, and in no point the w value, measured perpendicular to the lateral plating, be less than:

1) for ships with a deadweight carrying capacity of 5.000 tons or more:

w=0 5+ DW/30000 - (m) or 22 metres assuming the lesser value. For ships with a deadweight carrying capacity of less than 10.000 tons, the minimum value cannot be less than one metre;

2) for ships with a deadweight carrying capacity of less than 5.000 tons: w=0,4+0,24 DW/2000 (m);

b) Double bottoms or spaces: the height of each double bottom or space, measured from the line of construction of the keel plating, should not be inferior to the following value:

1) for ships with a deadweight carrying capacity of 5.000 tons or more: 15 (m) or h=2 m, assuming the minimum value with a minimum of one metre;

2) for ships with a deadweight carrying capacity of less than 5.000 tons: h=B/ 15 (m) with a minimum of 0,76 m;

c) the total capacity of the side tanks, of the double bottoms, of the forepeak and of the afterpeak should not be inferior to the segregated ballast capacity prescribed by regulation 13 of Annex I of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships adopted in London on 2 November 1973, ratified with Law No. 662 of 29 September 1980 and subsequent modifications and integrations.

d) The ballast tubing should not cross the cargo tanks and the cargo tubing should not cross the ballast tanks.

CHART B.

(Art. 3, comma 4).

CONDITIONS AT WHICH THE DOUBLE BOTTOMS OR SPACES MAY BE DISPENSED WITH

Double bottom tanks or spaces may be dispensed with, provided

a) the design of the tank is such that the statistic cargo pressure exerted on the bottom shell plating forming a single boundary between the cargo and the sea does not exceed the external hydrostatic water pressure, as expressed by the following formula:

hc.rc=10Dp <=dn.rs

where:

hc= height of cargo above the bottom shell plating in metres

rc= maximum cargo density in t/m3

dn= minimum operating draught in metres

rs= density of sea water in t/m3

Dp= maximum set pressure of "pressure/vacuum" valve provided for

the cargo tank in t/m2

f= security factor (generally considered to be 1 .1);

b) any horizontal division necessary to fulfil the above requirements is located at a height not inferior to B/ 6 or 6 m, assuming the minimum value, above the base line;

c) the details of the oil tanker's design are approved by the Administration.

CHART C.

(Art. 3, comma 10)

MAXIMUM LENGTH OF TANKS

a) When there are no longitudinal bulkheads in the cargo tank: (0,5+ bi/B +0,1) L, and in any case must not exceed 0,2 L.

b) When there is a longitudinal bulkhead in the cargo tanks: (0,25 bi/B 0,15) L, and in any case must not exceed 0,2 L.

c) When there are two or more longitudinal bulkheads in the cargo tanks:

1) for side cargo tanks; 0,2 L;

2) for central cargo tanks:

I) if bi/b is < to 1/5: (0,5 bi/B +0,1) L, when there is no longitudinal bulkhead in the symmetry plan; (0,25 bi/B +0,15) L, when there is a longitudinal bulkhead in the symmetry plan.

"B" is the minimum distance from the side of the ship to the outermost bulkhead of the tank measured internally and perpendicular to the symmetry plan at the level of the summer waterline.