Incidents Involving the IOPC Funds 2012
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INCIDENTS 2012 Incidents involving the IOPC Funds 2012 T + 44 (0)20 7592 7100 [email protected] F + 44 (0)20 7592 7111 www.iopcfunds.org Incidents involving the IOPC Funds – 2012 Contents Page Foreword 02 Introduction 03 1992 FUND Erika 06 12 6 Prestige 12 9 7 2 Solar 1 20 10 Volgoneft 139 24 3 15 Hebei Spirit 30 Incident in Argentina 38 King Darwin 42 1 Redfferm 44 JS Amazing 47 4 5 8 Alfa I 52 14 13 Summary of Incidents 56 1971 FUND Vistabella 60 Aegean Sea 63 Iliad 65 Nissos Amorgos 68 Plate Princess 77 Summary of Incidents 88 List of Currencies 98 11 Acknowledgements 99 International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds Portland House Bressenden Place London SW1E 5PN United Kingdom Incidents (in chronological order) Telephone: +44 (0)20 7592 7100 1 Vistabella, 07.03.1991 9 Volgoneft 139, 11.11.2007 States Parties to the 1992 Fund Convention Fax: +44 (0)20 7592 7111 2 Aegean Sea, 03.12.1992 10 Hebei Spirit, 07.12.2007 States Parties to the Supplementary Fund Protocol E-mail (for all enquiries): [email protected] 3 Iliad, 09.10.1993 11 Incident in Argentina, 26.12.2007 States Parties to the 1992 Civil Liability Convention Website: www.iopcfunds.org 4 Nissos Amorgos, 28.02.1997 12 King Darwin, 27.09.2008 States Parties to the 1969 Civil Liability Convention Opposite: Map of incidents involving the IOPC Funds as 5 Plate Princess, 27.05.1997 13 Redfferm, 30.03.2009 of October 2012. 6 Erika, 12.12.1999 14 JS Amazing, 06.06.2009 7 Prestige, 13.11.2002 15 Alfa I, 05.03.2012 Cover: The bow of the sunken tanker, Alfa I, Elefsis Bay, 8 Solar 1, 11.08.2006 Piraeus, Greece. INTERNATIONAL OIL POLLUTION COMPENSATION FUNDS Incidents 2012 INTERNATIONAL OIL POLLUTION COMPENSATION FUNDS Incidents 2012 1 FOREWORD INTRODUCTION Foreword Introduction This Report provides information on incidents in which the Secretariat of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds The International Regime The role of the IOPC Funds (IOPC Funds) was involved in 2012. It sets out the developments in the various cases during the course of the year and the position The IOPC Funds are three intergovernmental organisations The 1992 Fund and, if applicable, the Supplementary Fund taken by the governing bodies in respect of claims. The Report is not intended to reflect in full the discussions of the governing bodies. (the 1992 Fund, the Supplementary Fund and the 1971 Fund) provide additional compensation when the amount payable by the These discussions are reflected in the Records of Decisions of the meetings of these bodies, which are available on the IOPC Funds’ established by States for the purpose of providing compensation shipowner and his insurer is insufficient to cover all the damage. website (www.iopcfunds.org/documentservices). for victims of oil pollution damage resulting from spills of persistent oil from tankers. Amount of compensation available In April 2012, the Secretariat was informed of an incident (Alfa I) which took place in Greece in March 2012. Greece is a Party to the The maximum amounts of compensation payable by the shipowner’s 1992 Civil Liability and Fund Conventions and the Supplementary Fund Protocol. The Alfa I is therefore the first incident taking place The legal framework insurer and the IOPC Funds were fixed by Governments at the in a Member State of the Supplementary Fund. It is, however, very unlikely that the incident will exceed the limit under the 1992 Fund The international regime of compensation for damage caused Diplomatic Conferences that adopted the relevant international Convention. Details of this incident are contained on pages 52-55 under the section relating to incidents involving the 1992 Fund. by oil pollution is currently based on the 1992 Civil Liability treaties. As at 31 October 2012, the maximum amount payable for Convention and the 1992 Fund Convention. These Conventions each incident was 203 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR) of the were adopted under the auspices of the International Maritime International Monetary Fund, equal to about US$312 million for Organization (IMO), a specialised agency of the United Nations. incidents covered by the 1992 Fund and 750 million SDR (about US$ 1 154 million) for incidents which are also covered by the The 1992 Civil Liability Convention provides a first tier of Supplementary Fund. compensation which is paid by the owner of a ship which causes pollution damage. An earlier Fund, the 1971 Fund, still exists but is in the process of being wound up and does not cover incidents occurring after Under the 1992 Civil Liability Convention, the shipowner has strict 24 May 2002. liability for any pollution damage caused by the oil, ie the owner is liable even if there was no fault on the part of the ship or its crew. Since their establishment, the 1992 Fund and the preceding However, the shipowner can normally limit his financial liability 1971 Fund have been involved in some 145 incidents of varying sizes to an amount that is determined by the tonnage of the ship. This all over the world. In the great majority of cases, all claims have been amount is guaranteed by the shipowner’s liability insurer. settled out of court. No incidents have occurred so far which have involved or are likely to involve the Supplementary Fund. Normally, the Conventions only apply to tankers carrying persistent oil as cargo. However, under certain circumstances, The great majority of maritime States the Conventions also apply to spills from unladen tankers. are Members of the IOPC Funds As at 31 December 2012, the 1992 Fund had 109 Member States, The 1992 Fund Convention provides a second tier of compensation and two further States will become Members by July 2013. In Disclaimer which is financed by receivers of oil in States Parties to the addition, 28 of these States were Members of the Supplementary While the Secretariat of the IOPC Funds has made every reasonable effort in compiling the information and figures in the Report relating Convention after sea transport. The 1992 Fund was set up in Fund. All Member States are shown in the table on page 5. to claims, settlements and payments, it may not be held liable for the accuracy of the figures. The reader should note that the figures in 1996 when the 1992 Fund Convention entered into force. the Report are given for the purpose of providing an overview of the situation for various incidents and may therefore not correspond Damage covered by the Conventions exactly to the figures given in the IOPC Funds’ Financial Statements. For consistency, conversion into Pound sterling has been made on A Protocol to the 1992 Fund Convention adopted in 2003, Anyone in a Member State of the 1992 Fund who has suffered the basis of the exchange rate as at 31 October 2012. Figures relating to paid amounts are provided in the currency in which they were the Supplementary Fund Protocol, provides an extra layer of pollution damage caused by oil transported by a tanker can claim paid. In summary tables these figures are also provided in Pound sterling for comparison purposes only. Due to fluctuations in currencies compensation via the Supplementary Fund, which was set up in compensation from the shipowner/insurer, the 1992 Fund and, if over time, the figures in Pound sterling may vary significantly in some instances to the amounts actually paid on the date of payment. March 2005. Membership of this Fund is open to any State that applicable, the Supplementary Fund. This applies to individuals, is a Member of the 1992 Fund. businesses, local authorities and States. Published by the INTERNATIONAL OIL POLLUTION COMPENSATION FUNDS States which ratify these legal instruments must implement To be entitled to compensation, the pollution damage must result Portland House them into their national law. in an actual and quantifiable economic loss. The claimant must Bressenden Place be able to demonstrate the amount of his loss or damage by London SW1E 5PN producing accounts, tax records or other appropriate evidence. United Kingdom Copyright ©IOPC FUNDS 2013 Permission is granted to reproduce for personal and educational use only but acknowledgement is requested. Commercial copying, hiring or lending is prohibited. All other rights are reserved. 2 INTERNATIONAL OIL POLLUTION COMPENSATION FUNDS Incidents 2012 INTERNATIONAL OIL POLLUTION COMPENSATION FUNDS Incidents 2012 3 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION An oil pollution incident can generally give rise to claims for five The levy of contributions depends on reports of the amounts of Member States of the 1992 Fund types of pollution damage: oil received by individual contributors, which the Governments of Member States are obliged to submit annually to the Secretariat. 109 States for which the 1992 Fund Convention is in force as at 31 December 2012. • Property damage These amounts are used as the basis of the levy, calculated to (States which are also Members of the Supplementary Fund are marked in bold): • Costs of clean-up operations at sea and on shore provide sufficient monies to administer the Funds and to pay Albania Ghana Panama • Economic losses by fishermen or those engaged claims approved by the governing bodies. Algeria Greece Papua New Guinea in mariculture • Economic losses in the tourism sector Contributing oil received in Member States in 2012: Angola Grenada Philippines • Costs for reinstatement of the environment Japón 14% Antigua and Barbuda Guinea Poland India 11% JapónJapan 14% 14% Argentina Hungary Portugal República de Corea 8% Claims are assessed according to criteria established by the IndiaIndiaItalia 11% 11%7% Australia Iceland Qatar Governments of Member States. These criteria, which also apply RepúblicaRepublicPaíses Bajos de of 7% CoreaKorea 8% 9% Singapur 6% Bahamas India Republic of Korea to claims against the Supplementary Fund, are set out in the ItaliaItaly 7% 7% Francia 5% Bahrain Ireland Russian Federation 1992 Fund’s Claims Manual, which is a practical guide on how to PaísesNetherlandsReino Bajos Unido 4% 7% 7% España 4% Barbados Islamic Republic of Iran Saint Kitts and Nevis present claims for compensation.