EU to impose ship ban

The European Union threatened to ban about 200 cargo ships from its waters to prevent accidents such as the sinking of an oil tanker off the Spanish coast three years ago.

The EU proposed more inspections of commercial ships at EU ports and harsher penalties for vessels that fail safety standards. The number of ships banned by the EU could increase to 200 from 17 as a result, the commission said. “We are going to have zero tolerance for substandard ships,” EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday.

The measures proposed by the commission, the EU?s executive branch, need the support of the bloc?s 25 national governments and the European Parliament. Oil spills from the sinking of the ?Prestige? off Spain?s northwest coast in 2002 as well as from the wreck of the ?Erika? off France?s Atlantic coast in 1999, prompted the EU to tighten ship controls.

The EU decided to ban single-hull oil tankers, increased in-depth ship inspections six fold to 4,000 a year and set an annual inspection target of 25% of vessels in ports. The bloc also introduced criminal sanctions for maritime pollution and began publishing a blacklist of banned boats.