Double-hulled tanker Double-hulled tanker A double-hulled tanker refers to an oil tanker which has a double hull. They reduce the likelihood of leaks occurring than in single-hulled tankers, and their ability to prevent or reduce oil spills led to double hulls being standardized for oil tankers and other types of ships including by the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships or MARPOL Convention. After the Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster in Alaska in 1989, the US Government required all new oil tankers built for use between US ports to be equipped with a full double hull. A number of
Odyssey (tanker) "Exxon Valdez". Odyssey, built in 1971, was a 65,000-ton tanker operated by Polembros Shipping Ltd. of London, England, and registered in Liberia. On November 5, 1988, the tanker departed Sullom Voe Terminal in the Shetland Islands off Scotland, fully loaded with North Sea Brent Crude oil which was being transported to the Come By Chance Refinery at Come-by-Chance, Newfoundland and Labrador. When the ship was about 1000 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland, a major North Atlantic storm arose, buffetting the ship with waves and 44-mile-per-hour winds. In response, the ship sent out a distress signal and kept heading