Australia is unlikely to join the European Union’s ban on single-hulled oil tankers. The EU action, which bans single-hull tankers carrying heavy fuel oil, tar, bitumen and heavy crude from entering its ports, was rushed through in response to last week’s tanker sinking which has caused a huge oil slick on the Spanish coast.

At the moment the US is the only country that has such a ban. The EU is now working fast to enforce it in its member countries.

Associated Marine MD Michael Hill said in Melbourne that Australian regulations are sufficient enough and the EU ban probably won’t directly affect local operations. “Australia has very tight port regulations and all tankers and carriers are subject to them,” he said.

Single-hull tankers aren’t considered dangerous by the marine industry in Australia, he said. “The issue isn’t really whether a vessel has one or two hulls, but rather how old it is. All vessels have a use-by date, depending on the kind of tanker. I think that ship fell apart because it was old.”