| IMO adopts bunkers convention The last significant
gap in the international regime for compensating victims of oil spills from
ships is set to be closed with the adoption
by IMO of a new convention on liability and compensation for pollution from
ships' bunkers. A diplomatic conference held from 19-23 March 2001 at IMO
headquarters in London reached agreement on the details of the convention, which
will enter into force one year after the criteria enshrined in Article 14 of
the Convention have been met. The
International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage,
2001, will establish a liability and compensation regime for spills of oil,
when carried as fuel in ships' bunkers. Current regimes covering oil spills
do not include bunker oil spills from vessels other than tankers. Commenting
on the successful outcome of the conference, IMO Secretary-General Mr. William A.
O’Neil said, "The adoption of a bunkers convention completes the task
initiated by the Legal Committee when it was established by IMO more than 30
years ago- namely, the adoption of a comprehensive set of unified international
rules governing the award of prompt and effective compensation to all victims
of ship-sourced pollution." He
added, "With the adoption of this Convention the Organization has now put
in place all the elements of a liability and compensation regime for damage
caused by the sea carriage of oils and other hazardous and noxious substances.
This is a major contribution towards the protection of the environment, which
will benefit coastal States and all other victims of pollution caused by bunker
oil spills. The confidence of the international community in IMO’s ability
to anticipate and develop regulatory standards for global maritime needs will
undoubtedly be enhanced by the adoption of this treaty." Mr
O’Neil went on to stress the importance of swift ratification and implementation
of the Convention. He said, "The work of IMO and its Membership on this
subject will not stop with the signing of the Final Act of the Conference. Our
efforts should turn immediately to the task of bringing the Convention into
force at the earliest possible date, and to arranging for its implementation." The
Conference was attended by delegations of 70 IMO Member States and one Associate
Member (Hong Kong, China). A delegation from Benin attended as an observer.
Observers from non-governmental organizations and inter-governmental organizations
also attended. The
bunkers convention, which provides a free-standing instrument covering pollution
damage only, is modelled on the International Convention on Civil Liability
for Oil Pollution Damage, 1969 (CLC). A key requirement of both is the need
for the registered owner of a vessel to maintain compulsory insurance cover.
Another key provision in the bunkers convention is the requirement for direct
action, which would allow a claim for compensation for pollution damage to be
brought directly against an insurer. Application and
entry into force The
new Convention applies to ships over 1,000 gross tonnage. It will enter into
force one year after the date on which 18 States, including five States each
with ships whose combined gross tonnage is not less than 1 million gt have either
signed it without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval or
have deposited instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession
with the IMO Secretary-General. The bunkers convention
also includes articles on: The
resolution also urges all States to initiate action without awaiting the entry
into force of the Convention. Resolution
on protection for persons taking measures to prevent or minimize the effects
of oil pollution – the resolution urges States, when implementing
the Convention, to consider the need to introduce legal provision for protection
for persons taking measures to prevent or minimize the effects of bunker oil
pollution. It recommends that persons taking reasonable measures to prevent
or minimize the effects of oil pollution be exempt from liability unless the
liability in question resulted from their personal act or omission, committed
with the intent to cause damage, or recklessly and with knowledge that such
damage would probably result. It also recommends that States consider the relevant
provisions of the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for
Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by
Sea, 1996, as a model for their legislation. Background
- Development of the bunkers convention The
idea of a regime covering pollution from ships’ bunkers was first mooted
during discussions on the 1992 Protocols to the 1969 CLC and the 1971 IOPC (FUND).
However, it was felt that to include bunkers in those instruments would complicate
matters since there was a clear difference between oil carried as cargo and
bunker fuel oil. In
1994, Australia submitted a paper to the 38th session of IMO’s
Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) proposing the development of
a regime for liability and compensation for damage in the event of damage caused
by oil from ships' bunkers. The
MEPC requested the Legal Committee to give the matter due consideration and
the Legal Committee’s 73rd session in 1995 agreed to include
the matter in its work programme. The
idea had also been raised in the Legal Committee during negotiations on the
development of the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for
Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by
Sea (HNS), which was eventually adopted in 1996. Bunkers were left out of this
Convention, but with the firm understanding of several delegations that a bunkers
convention would be developed at the earliest possible opportunity thereafter. The
need for a bunkers convention was highlighted in 1996 in a joint submission
to the 75th session of the Legal Committee by Australia, Canada,
Finland, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It referred to
the UK P&I Club’s Analysis of Major Claims 1993 which had stated that
"...half of the total number of pollution claims arose from incidents involving
ships not carrying oil cargo." Furthermore,
Oil Spill Intelligence Report data confirmed that even for larger spills the
number of non-tanker vessel spills was significantly greater than the number
of tanker spills. Dealing with bunker spills from non-tankers was made more
difficult by the lack of a liability and compensation regime, while the nature
of fuel oil itself made spills of such oils more difficult - and more costly
- to clean up. It
has been estimated that, on average, the amount of bunkers carried in non-tankers
is around 14 million tonnes at any given time - compared with approximately 130
million tonnes of oil is carried as cargo on the world’s seas. Some bulk
carriers and container ships carry more oil as bunkers than coastal tankers
carry as cargo. Liability
and Compensation Conventions adopted by IMO
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