Recognizing the need to improve the requirements for the design and construction of oil tankers to prevent accidental oil pollution in the event of collision or grounding, Transport Canada adopted Standards for the construction of new and existing Canadian tankers, and for new and existing non-Canadian registered oil tankers, when such non-Canadianregistered tankers operate in Canadian waters and the fishing zones of Canada in 1993.

These Standards were developed from two sources, namely

- the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78), specifically Regulations 13F, 13G and 13H to Annex I of MARPOL 73/78 for new tankers and existing large tankers and

- the U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990, with specific reference to the United States Coast Guard Interim Final Rule on Double Hull Standards for Vessels Carrying Oil in Bulk, issued 12 August 1992 for smaller existing tankers.

In 1995, the Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations were amended to incorporate these Standards by reference in section 14.2, which states “Any oil tanker that is engaged in voyages that take place in waters under Canadian jurisdiction shall comply with Standards for the Double Hull Construction of Oil Tankers, TP 11710, published by the Canadian Coast Guard on July 6, 1993, as amended from time to time, other than sections 3 and 5 and subparagraphs 24(a)(i), (b)(i) and (c)(i) of those Standards”.

Subsequent to the sinking of the ERIKA off the coast of France in 1999, amendments were made to Regulation 13G of Annex I of MARPOL in resolution MEPC.95(46) in order to bring the international requirements more in line with OPA 90 requirements, including the phase out of smaller tankers and the elimination of single-hulled tankers by 2015. Following the PRESTIGE oil spill in 2002, further amendments were made to regulation 13G of Annex I of MARPOL and a new regulation 13H was added. These amendments incorporated further acceleration of the phase-out scheduled for single-hulled tankers, a ban on the carriage of heavy grades of oil by singled hulled tankers and an extended application of the Condition Assessment Scheme. The amendments are contained in resolutions MEPC.111(50) and MEPC.112(50).

The U.S. have indicated that they will continue to apply OPA 90 and will, therefore, not implement the amendment to Regulation 13G of Annex I of MARPOL.

These Standards have been amended to incorporate the new Annex I provisions for existing tankers but, recognizing that the US will still apply OPA 90 and that the two schemes are close but not identical, will also continue to include OPA 90 provisions in certain instances.

OPA 90 phase out provisions will continue to be applied to the following existing tankers:

• Canadian tankers on domestic trade or only trading to the U.S.
• U.S. tankers trading only to Canada or in transit through waters under Canadian jurisdiction
• Canadian tankers that are less than 5000 DWT, except tankers over 600 DWT on international trade carrying heavy grade oil as cargo
• non-Canadian tankers on the coasting trade
• non-Canadian tankers on international trade calling at Canadian ports that are less than 5000 DWT, except tankers over 600 DWT carrying heavy grade oil as cargo

MARPOL Annex I phase out provisions will be applied to other existing tankers:

• Canadian tankers over 5000 DWT requiring international certification
• non-Canadian tankers over 5000 DWT on international trade in waters under Canadian jurisdiction
• tankers over 600 DWT on international trade carrying heavy grade oil as cargo

Section 6 of the Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations specifies that non-Canadian tankers must carry international certification. Canadian tankers must carry either Canadian certification, if they operate exclusively in waters under Canadian jurisdiction, or international certification if they operate outside these waters; in many cases Canadian tankers carry both certificates. Canadian Oil Pollution Prevention Certificates (COPP) will reflect the OPA 90 phase out dates whereas International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificates (IOPP) issued to Canadian tankers will reflect the MARPOL Annex I phase out dates. Ship operators would not be prohibited from changing the service of a tanker in order to take advantage of any delayed phase out under either the OPA 90 or MARPOL regimes, but tankers would be required to meet all other applicable requirements. In particular, a Canadian domestic tanker with a COPP Certificate would be expected to meet all requirements of a non-Canadian going tanker before being issued an IOPP Certificate. The 1993 version of this document as amended on January 1, 2003 shall be used until April 5, 2005, after which time the version as amended on April 5, 2005 shall be used. Irrespective of the provisions of these Standards, a tanker that reaches its phase-out date under Part III of these Standards prior to 5 April 2005 shall use that phase-out date for the purposes of that Part.

Section 1 - Short Title ^

1. These Standards may be cited as the Oil Tanker Double Hull Construction Standards.

Section 2 - Interpretation ^

2. (1) In these Standards,

"Act" means the Canada Shipping Act;

“Administration” means with respect to non-Canadian ships, the Government of the State under whose authority the ship is operating and non-governmental organizations which are authorized to act on the Government’s behalf;

"Annex I" means Annex I to the Pollution Convention;

"breadth" (B) means the maximum breadth of the ship, measured amidships to the moulded line of the frame in a ship with a metal shell and to the outer surface of the hull in a ship with a shell of any other material;

"Board" means the Board of Steamship Inspection;

"Canadian waters" has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Canada Shipping Act;

"Category 1 oil tanker" means an oil tanker of 20,000 tonnes deadweight and above carrying crude oil, fuel oil, heavy diesel oil or lubricating oil as cargo, and of 30,000 tonnes deadweight and above carrying oil other than the above, which does not comply with the requirements for new oil tankers as defined in regulation 1(26) of Annex I; "Category 2 oil tanker" means an oil tanker of 20,000 tonnes deadweight and above carrying crude oil, fuel o il, heavy diesel oil or lubricating oil as cargo, and of 30,000 tonnes deadweight and above carrying oil other than the above, which complies with the requirements for new oil tankers as defined in regulation 1(26) of Annex I;

“Category 3 oil tanker” means an oil tanker of 5,000 tonnes deadweight and above but less than that specified for a Category 1 or a Category 2 oil tanker;

"combination carrier" means a ship designed to carry either oil or solid cargoes in bulk;

"crude oil" means any liquid hydrocarbon mixture occurring naturally in the earth whether or not treated to render it suitable for transportation and includes:

(a)  crude oil from which certain distillate fractions may have been removed, and

(b)  crude oil to which certain distillate fractions may have been added;

"crude oil tanker" means an oil tanker engaged in the trade of carrying crude oil;

"deadweight" (DWT) means the difference in tonnes between the displacement of a ship at the load waterline corresponding to the assigned summer freeboard and the lightweight of that ship;

"existing oil tanker for the purposes of double hulling" means an oil tanker which is not a new oil tanker for the purposes of double hulling;

"fishing zone" means a fishing zone prescribed pursuant to section 16 of the Oceans Act;

“fuel oil” means heavy distillates or residues from crude oil or blends of such materials intended for use as a fuel for the production of heat or power of a quality equivalent to the specification acceptable to the IMO (refer to the American Society for Testing and Material’s Specification for Number Four Fuel Oil (Designation D396) or heavier);

"gross tonnage" has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Canada Shipping Act;

“heavy diesel oil” means diesel oil other than those distillates of which more than 50 per cent by volume distils at a temperature not exceeding 340ºC when tested by the method acceptable to the IMO (refer to the American Society for Testing and Material’s Standard Test Method (Designation D86));

“heavy grade oil” means any of the following:

(a) crude oils having a density at 15ºC higher than 900 kg/m³;

(b) fuel oils having either a density at 15ºC higher than 900 kg/m3 or a kinematic viscosity at 50ºC higher than 180 mm²/s;

(c) bitumen, tar and their emulsions;

"IMO" means International Maritime Organization;

"Lt" means the length in metres between the forward and after extremities of the cargo tanks;

"length"(L) means 96 per cent of the total length on a waterline at 85 per cent of the least moulded depth measured from the top of the keel, or the length from the foreside of the stem to the axis of the rudder stock on that waterline, if that be greater; in ships designed with a rake of keel the waterline on which this length is measured shall be parallel to the designed waterline;

"lightweight" means the displacement of a ship in tonnes without cargo, fuel, lubricating oil, ballast water, fresh water and feed water in tanks, consumable stores, and passengers and crew and their effects;

"major conversion", for the purposes of these Standards and the Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations, means a conversion of an existing ship

(a) which substantially alters the dimensions or carrying capacity of the ship, except a conversion that includes only the installation of segregated ballast tanks, dedicated clean ballast tanks, a crude oil washing system, double sides, a double bottom, a double hull or an approved alternative design in lieu of a double hull; or

(b) which changes the type of the ship; or

(c) the intent of which in the opinion of the Board is substantially to prolong its life; or

(d) which otherwise so alters the ship that, if it were a new ship, it would become subject to relevant provisions of the present Pollution Convention not applicable to it as an existing ship;

“new oil tanker as defined in regulation 1(26) of Annex I” means an oil tanker:

(a) for which the building contract is placed after 1 June 1979; or

(b) in the absence of a building contract, the keel of which is laid or which is at a similar stage of construction after 1 January 1980; or

(c) the delivery of which is after 1 June 1982; or

(d) which has undergone a major conversion:


(i). for which the contract is placed after 1 June 1979; or
(ii). in the absence of a contract, the construction work of which is begun after 1 January 1980; or
(iii). which is completed after 1 June 1982;

"new oil tanker for the purposes of double hulling" means an oil tanker

(a) for which the building contract is placed on or after 6 July 1993, or

(b) in the absence of a building contract, the keel of which is laid or which is at a similar stage of construction on or after 6 January 1994, or

(c) the delivery of which is on or after 6 July 1996, or

(d) which has undergone a major conversion:


(i) for which the contract is placed on or after 6 July 1993; or
(ii) in the absence of a contract, the construction work of which is begun on or after 6 January 1994; or
(iii) which is completed on or after 6 July 1996;

"oil" has the same meaning as in section 673 of the Canada Shipping Act;

"oil fuel" means any oil used as fuel in connection with the propulsion and auxiliary machinery of the ship in which such oil is carried;

"oil tanker" means a self-propelled ship that is constructed or adapted primarily to carry oil in bulk in its cargo spaces, and includes a combination carrier or a chemical tanker when the carrier or tanker is carrying a cargo or part cargo of oil in bulk;

"Pollution Convention" means the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, signed at London on November 2, 1973, and the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, signed at London on February 17, 1978, and any amendments, whenever made, to Protocol I, the Annexes or Appendices to that Convention (MARPOL 73/78);

"product carrier" means an oil tanker engaged in the trade of carrying oil other than crude oil;

"segregated ballast" means the ballast water introduced into a tank which is completely separated from the cargo oil and oil fuel system and which is permanently allocated to the carriage of ballast or to the carriage of ballast or cargoes other than oil or noxious substances as variously described in the Annexes of the present Pollution Convention; "tank" means an enclosed space which is formed by the permanent structure of a ship and which is designed for the carriage of liquid in bulk;

"wing tank" means any tank adjacent to the side shell plating.

(2) Unless specifically defined in subsection 2(1), all other words and expressions used in these Standards have the same meaning as in the Canada Shipping Act.

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