
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 14, 1990                   TAG: 9006140100
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

OIL TANKER SAFETY DIFFICULT TO REGULATE

Sorting out responsibility and liability for the oil tanker explosion off the Texas coast illustrates the problems of policing a global industry.

The Norwegian owned and registered Mega Borg was staffed by Indians and chartered by a French oil company to carry crude from Angola to the United States for processing.

The series of explosions that ripped the 886-foot tanker early Saturday focused attention on U.S. legislation to improve oil tanker safety, which has bogged down in a House-Senate conference committee. The accident occurred as some of the Mega Borg's cargo was being loaded onto another tanker in the Gulf of Mexico.

But even if the pending oil tanker legislation became law, it might not have any effect on accidents like that on board the Mega Borg, which was in international waters. That means the Borg's Norwegian owners may not be legally held liable for any damage to the U.S. coastline.

The U.S. legislation, crafted after last year's Exxon Valdez accident in Alaska, includes a provision requiring U.S. tankers to have double hulls to prevent spills. But some House factions want to exempt the huge tankers that unload cargo offshore onto smaller vessels.

Also, any U.S. legislation will be effective only in the United States and its waters.

by CNB