Mitvol Urges Ban on Single-Hull Tankers in Caspian Sea

MOSCOW. March 29 (Interfax) – Head of the Russian environmental watchdog Rosprirodnadzor Oleg Mitvol believes that single-hull tankers should be banned in the Caspian Sea.

“If such a vessel entered the Mediterranean Sea, its captain would be locked in jail at once. However, such things are possible in the Caspian region and no one except Russia seems concerned about the problem,” Mitvol said at a press conference in Moscow on Thursday.

The environmental situation in the Caspian Sea is subject for Rosprirodnadzor’s interest, he said. “We have been raising the issue of banning single-hull tankers at relevant, rather high levels,” he said.

“I hope that finally the need to preserve unique bioresources of the Caspian Sea will outweigh the issue of profits,” Mitvol said.

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