Annual Report 2008 IOPC FUNDS ANNUAL REPORT 2008 INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL OIL POLLUTION COMPENSATION FUNDS PORTLAND HOUSE Telephone: +44 (0)20 7592 7100 OIL POLLUTION BRESSENDEN PLACE Telefax: +44 (0)20 7592 7111 LONDON SW1E 5PN E-mail:
[email protected] COMPENSATION UNITED KINGDOM Website: www.iopcfund.org FUNDS REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE INTERNATIONAL OIL POLLUTION COMPENSATION FUNDS IN 2008 Photograph on front cover: Hebei Spirit: Volunteer clean-up workers assembling on the beach Acknowledgements No photograph, map or graphic in this Annual Report may be reproduced without prior permission in writing from the IOPC Funds. Photographs by: Captain S K Kim, KOMOS pages 55, 126, 131 Carlos G. Cuesta y Asociados, SL page 100 General Marine Surveyors & Co. Ltd page 115 Government of Monaco page 46 Government of the Russian Federation page 121 IOPC Funds front cover ITOPF pages 78, 106, 112, 133 Panoptica pages 3, 9, 14, 24, 25, 26, 28, 31, 45 Maps by: ITOPF/Impact pages 110, 117 Graphs by: IOPC Funds/Impact pages 16, 20, 37, 38, 41, 49 Designed and produced in Great Britain by: Impact PR & Design Limited, 125 Blean Common, Blean, Canterbury, Kent CT2 9JH Telephone: +44 (0)1227 450022 Web site: www.impactprdesign.co.uk FOREWORD FOREWORD As Director of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC Funds), I am pleased to present the Annual Report for the year 2008. During 2008, the IOPC Funds celebrated their 30th anniversary, the 1971 Fund having been established in 1978. Since then the system has grown considerably: when the 1971 Fund was established it had just 14 Member States whilst 103 States had ratified the 1992 Fund Convention by the end of 2008.