SHIPPING: TOTALFINA WANTS TIGHTER EU LEGISLATION ON SAFETY RULES.

According to Mr Desmarest, the ideal would be to discuss such an issue at international level. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that it was more realistic to focus on Europe as a first step. It would ensure that "the rules are the same for everyone", he is reported to have said. He also said that he was ready to exchange views with the oil industry throughout the EU. In this regard, he has already written letters to other oil industry bosses.Mr Desmarest also explained that he did not think that TotalFina had done anything wrong in its use of the Erika oil tanker, which capsized off the Atlantic coast of France on December 12 and then broke up spilling thousands of tonnes of diesel into the sea, leaving a catastrophic slick along France's Atlantic coastline. He stressed that the ship was certified by Rina, an Italian classification society, one of the ten recognised by the EU (see European Report Nos 2462 and 2464 for further details). Miss de Palacio nevertheless pointed out that the ship was "not a first class boat". Moreover, it has already got through four classification societies and eight owners.Tighter EU rules.Miss de Palacio said that "EU rules should...