The fifth of april is a cut-off for tankers. Under Regulation 13G and 13H of the IMO phase-out operation, Category 1 and some of Category 2 tankers will be withdrawn from service. Cat1 covers tankers older than 23 years. They are more than 20,000dwt for heavy oil and more than 30,000dwt for lighter grades. Also, they do not comply with requirements for a protective siting for ballast tanks. Cat 2 covers tankers of 28 years or older but complying with the pro- tective siting rules for ballast tanks. The number of ships involved in each category is difficult to gauge because there seems to be no easily recognisable feature setting Cat 1 apart from Cats 2 and 3.
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