The MEPC is due to discuss IMO implementation of the EU's tabled post-Prestige proposals to bring forward the final phase-out of single-hull tankers from 2015 to 2010, a decision that would hasten the scrapping of as much as 70M deadweight of ships. "The potential consequences of fully implementing the tabled EU proposals are enormous," he says, suggesting that the global oil transport system could be seriously disrupted if the EU gets its way without a significant compromise. Armed with an alternative proposal for a 20-year age limit for single-hull ships, the Japanese consensus is that the EU proposals must be vigorously opposed, and they are preparing themselves for a fight.
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