The International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds 1971 and 1992

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 659-663
Author(s):  
Måns Jacobsson
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
International System ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Trust Fund ◽  
International Regime ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Pollution Damage ◽  
Scope Of Application

ABSTRACT The international system for compensating victims of oil pollution damage caused by oil spills from tankers is based on two international treaties adopted as a result of the Torrey Canyon incident which occurred in 1967 off the south coast of the United Kingdom, namely the 1969 Civil Liability Convention and the 1971 Fund Convention. These Conventions have been amended by Protocols in 1992, resulting in two new Conventions (the 1992 Conventions). The International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds 1971 and 1992 administer the system of compensation created by the Fund Conventions. Over 80 nations are members of the Funds. In the light of the experience gained in recent years from incidents involving the Funds, it would be appropriate to consider whether the objectives of establishing the international regime have been fulfilled and whether the international regime has given adequate protection to victims of oil pollution damage. The paper also makes comparison between the international regime and the regime created under OPA 90. While there are differences between the two regimes as regards scope of application, funding, and approach in various aspects, there are significant similarities in respect of administration and claims handling. Some of the differences are due to the fact that the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund works within one nation, whereas the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds operate worldwide.

A History Of Major Oil Spill Incidents

1969 ◽  
Vol 1969 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.E. Biglane
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Pollution Damage ◽  
History Of

Abstract This paper summarizes some of the major oil spills of recent years and discusses some of the causes of these spills and their effects on the environment. Information is presented on research needed to control oil spills and on domestic and international legislation needed to provide compensation for oil pollution damage.

The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund: How Effective an Instrument of U.S. Public Policy Has It Been?1

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 655-658
Author(s):  
Daniel F. Sheehan
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
The United States ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Trust Fund ◽  
International Regime ◽  
Exxon Valdez ◽  
The Public ◽  
International Liability ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) was forged in the legislative cauldron of the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez casualty. However, its genesis really began with Congressional consideration and debate concerning whether to adopt an international liability and compensation regime or improve the unilateral system unique to the United States. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 significantly expanded the scope of the unique U.S. mechanism, while at the same time it urged the Administration to continue to examine the possibilities of becoming party to an international regime. Ten years after the Exxon Valdez casualty provides a convenient and appropriate time frame for reflection on how well the public has been served by the establishment and implementation of the regime of which the OSLTF is a major element. The impact on various publics served and stakeholders impacted will be analyzed and evaluated. While there are clearly differences in scope, application, and funding mechanisms between the U.S. and international regime, there are substantial similarities in terms of process, administration, areas of concern and interest.

Future of the International Conventions on Liability and Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage

1991 ◽  
Vol 1991 (1) ◽  
pp. 689-690
Author(s):  
Måns Jacobsson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Civil Liability ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intergovernmental Organization ◽  
Pollution Damage ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
Set Up ◽  
International Conventions

ABSTRACT The international regime on oil spill liability and compensation is based on two international conventions, the 1969 Civil Liability Convention and the 1971 Fund Convention. The Fund Convention establishes an intergovernmental organization, the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPC Fund), with the task of administering the regime of compensation set up by that convention. At present, 67 nations are party to the Civil Liability Convention, 45 to the Fund Convention. The United States is not party to either. In 1984, the conventions were revised by two protocols, which provide higher compensation limits and a wider scope of application than the original conventions. These protocols have not yet come into force. The future of the compensation regime established by these conventions is examined here, with special attention to the prospects for the entry into force of the 1984 protocols. At present, the United States will not ratify these protocols.

The Oil Spill Response Fund – Four Decades of Success

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 2146-2158
Author(s):  
Allen R. Thuring
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Trust Fund ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
Response Team ◽  
Oil Spill Response

ABSTRACT This paper examines the oil pollution response fund created by Section 311(k) of the 1972 CWA and then modified, culminating with the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) established by OPA. Could the CWA have been successful absent the provision for a federal fund? This Fund is now four decades old. Has it passed the “test of time”? Did it meet the goals set at its birth? Is it still relevant? Should it continue? CWA Section 311 and later OPA created a range of response tools to deal with oil and hazmat spills on the waters of the US. They established a public/private solution to spill response. Key components:An expectation that the spiller was responsible and liable to clean up the spill;The National Contingency Plan and the Federal On-Scene Coordinator/FOSC;Establishing expertise on “special teams”: the CG's National Strike Force and EPA's Emergency Response Team;An up-front trust fund available only to the FOSC that pays for removals if the responsible party (RP) does not step forward. The fund exists to:Pre-empt the RP from using delay as a response option, despite the law.Give the FOSC money to quickly hire private response companies, if the RP does not act or if the spill's origin is a mystery. Equally important, the CWA and OPA did NOT designate a government agency to “clean up” oil spills. Rather, the law envisioned private companies performing that role, paid for by the spillers/RP or the 311(k)/OSLTF Fund, under the oversight of the USCG or the EPA. It tasked the USCG with managing this Fund. The Fund achieved its results. The US has a robust private oil spill removal sector that responsible parties hire when needed. If an RP does not act, the CG and EPA FOSCs use the Fund to mobilize those same companies to remove oil spills on US waters. The US economy has grown, as has the number of oil spills reported. Cases each year requiring Fund use have not increased proportionally. Responsible parties continue to clean up their spills, as the CWA envisioned. The Fund retains its ability to respond simultaneously to major spills, even during Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon. In forty two years, the Fund has always been available for an FOSC directed removal. The opinions stated in this paper are the author's alone, and do not reflect the official policies of the United States Coast Guard.

OIL SPILL LIABILITY AND COMPENSATION

1979 ◽  
Vol 1979 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-10
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Carven
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Civil Liability ◽  
International Regimes ◽  
Pollution Damage ◽  
Legal Regimes ◽  
Key Features

ABSTRACT Before the Torrey Canyon incident in 1967, no adequate national or international legal regimes existed to compensate victims of oil pollution damage or to enable governments to recover costs incurred in cleaning up oil spills. But, as a result of this major pollution incident, many national and four major international regimes were developed to make certain that victims of oil spills were compensated for their losses. This article discusses two voluntary schemes, TOVALOP and CRISTAL, and two Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization conventions—the Civil Liability Convention and the Fund Convention. For comparative purposes, it also covers the key features of proposed U.S. legislation generally referred to as “Superfund.”

THE INTERNATIONAL COMPENSATION SYSTEM IN A PERIOD OF TRANSFORMATION

2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 (2) ◽  
pp. 829-834
Author(s):  
Måns Jacobsson
Keyword(s):  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Civil Liability ◽  
Intergovernmental Organizations ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
International Regime ◽  
Old Regime ◽  
International Convention ◽  
Pollution Damage ◽  
Major Incidents ◽  
International Fund

ABSTRACT Two international treaties elaborated under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)—the 1969 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (1969 Civil Liability Convention) and the 1971 International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage (1971 Fund Convention)—established the international regime of compensation. These Conventions were revised by Protocols in 1992, and the revised Conventions, known as the 1992 Conventions, are intended to replace the original ones. The Civil Liability Conventions govern the liability of the shipowner, whereas the Fund Conventions provide for supplementary compensation through two intergovernmental organizations, the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds, financed by a levy on oil receipts in Member nations. A number of nations has ratified the 1992 Conventions and denounced the original 1969/1971 Conventions, but a number of other nations has not yet done so. After the denunciation by a number of nations whose oil industries are major contributors to the system, the old regime soon will be reaching a point where it is no longer financially viable. It is therefore important that the 1971 Fund Convention be terminated as soon as possible. It is likely that the maximum amount of compensation available under the 1992 Conventions (at present some US$180 million) will increase to some US$270 million as of November 1, 2003. In view of the experience of recent major incidents, the question has been raised as to whether the 1992 Conventions should be reassessed to ensure that the international regime continues to meet the needs of society.

ECOLOGICAL AND GEOMORPHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE VULNERABILITY OF THE COASTS OF THE KARA SEA TO THE OIL SPILL

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Ermolov ◽  
Alexander Ermolov
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
International System ◽  
Kara Sea ◽  
Coastal Protection ◽  
Sensitivity Index ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Expert Assessments ◽  
International Systems

International experience of oil spill response in the sea defines the priority of coastal protection and the need to identify as most valuable in ecological terms and the most vulnerable areas. Methodological approaches to the assessing the vulnerability of Arctic coasts to oil spills based on international systems of Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) and geomorphological zoning are considered in the article. The comprehensive environmental and geomorphological approach allowed us to form the morphodynamic basis for the classification of seacoasts and try to adapt the international system of indexes to the shores of the Kara Sea taking into account the specific natural conditions. This work has improved the expert assessments of the vulnerability and resilience of the seacoasts.

Compulsory civil liability insurance, financial security: An integral component of compensation for ship-source oil pollution damage

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-441
Author(s):  
Pham Van Tan
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Civil Liability ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Liability Insurance ◽  
Financial Security ◽  
Pollution Damage ◽  
Significant Harm ◽  
Oil Tankers

Oil pollution damage caused by oil spills at sea generally occurs on a large scale across numerous regions and countries, causing significant harm to marine ecosystems as well as worldwide economic loss. The costs are so severe in many instances that the owner of the ship responsible for the pollution cannot afford to pay compensation to those who have suffered loss. As a consequence, the need to cover oil pollution damages has given rise to compulsory liability insurance, which provides a financial guarantee against the costs of oil spills. Compulsory civil liability insurance has therefore become an indispensable part of the liability regime for owners of oil tankers and bunkers.

scholarly journals Characterization of microbial response to petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in a lacustrine ecosystem

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilio D’Ugo ◽  
Milena Bruno ◽  
Arghya Mukherjee ◽  
Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay ◽  
Roberto Giuseppetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Petroleum Hydrocarbon ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Hydrocarbon Contamination ◽  
Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contamination ◽  
Microbial Response ◽  
Pollution Event ◽  
Hydrocarbonoclastic Potential

AbstractMicrobiomes of freshwater basins intended for human use remain poorly studied, with very little known about the microbial response to in situ oil spills. Lake Pertusillo is an artificial freshwater reservoir in Basilicata, Italy, and serves as the primary source of drinking water for more than one and a half million people in the region. Notably, it is located in close proximity to one of the largest oil extraction plants in Europe. The lake suffered a major oil spill in 2017, where approximately 400 tons of crude oil spilled into the lake; importantly, the pollution event provided a rare opportunity to study how the lacustrine microbiome responds to petroleum hydrocarbon contamination. Water samples were collected from Lake Pertusillo 10 months prior to and 3 months after the accident. The presence of hydrocarbons was verified and the taxonomic and functional aspects of the lake microbiome were assessed. The analysis revealed specialized successional patterns of lake microbial communities that were potentially capable of degrading complex, recalcitrant hydrocarbons, including aromatic, chloroaromatic, nitroaromatic, and sulfur containing aromatic hydrocarbons. Our findings indicated that changes in the freshwater microbial community were associated with the oil pollution event, where microbial patterns identified in the lacustrine microbiome 3 months after the oil spill were representative of its hydrocarbonoclastic potential and may serve as effective proxies for lacustrine oil pollution.

Analyses of Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Intertidal Sediments Resulting from Two Spills of No. 2 Fuel Oil in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts

1978 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 510-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Teal ◽  
Kathryn Burns ◽  
John Farrington
Keyword(s):  
Gas Chromatography ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Aromatic Hydrocarbons ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Fuel Oil ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Glass Capillary ◽  
Marsh Sediments ◽  
Insight Into

We have analyzed the two- and three-ring aromatic hydrocarbons from the Wild Harbor oil spill in September 1969 and the Winsor Cove oil spill in October 1974, in intertidal marsh sediments, using glass capillary gas-chromatographic and mass-fragmentographic analyses. Naphthalenes with 0–3 alkyl substitutions and phenanthrenes with 0–2 substitutions decreased in concentration with time in surface sediments. The more substituted aromatics decreased relatively less and in some cases actually increased in absolute concentration. The changes in composition of the aromatic fraction have potential consequences for the ecosystem and provide insight into geochemical processes of oil weathering. Key words: oil pollution, aromatic hydrocarbons; gas chromatography; gas chromatography–mass spectrometry; geochemistry; marsh; sediments; oil spills

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