The argument for twin screw tankers

According to the CTX tanker casualty database, machinery failures are an important cause of tanker oil spillage. This paper argues that the current large (over 10,000 deadweight) tanker fleet is experiencing at least two full losses of power or steering per day, and probably more than ten. If this fleet were twin screw, properly implemented, this number would be cut by a factor of one thousand. At the same time, tanker low speed maneuverability would be improved dramatically. All this could be done for a net cost of less than that of the double hull.