OIL AND RELATED CHEMICALS - Marine Pollution: What Everyone Needs to Know - page 81

Maritime Organization (IMO). As a result of the Exxon Valdez
spill, the United States passed the Oil Spill Act of 1990 requir-
ing all newly built tankers to have a double hull. Any time a
tanker is carrying oil it runs the risk of a spill, and now they
need to have insurance for unlimited damages—which is
good motivation for being very careful. Overall, US oil spill-
age has decreased over 200% since the 1970s and 150% since
the 1980s, despite the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon.
International trends are similar. This is encouraging, because
there has been an increase in oil transport worldwide in the
past two decades. The reduction in oil spills may be due to
improved safety standards, and the realization that spills in
the United States could result in enormous costs for which the
spiller would have unlimited liability according to the Oil Spill
Act of 1990. One would predict that oil spills will continue to
diminish as there will be less reliance on oil and increased use
of alternative energy sources in the future. Furthermore, oil
that is transported by sea will be more likely to be contained
in double-hulled tankers.