University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1973 The Impact of the Torrey Canyon disaster on technology and national and international efforts to deal with supertanker generated oil pollution: an impetus for change? Craig Vance Wilson The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Wilson, Craig Vance, "The Impact of the Torrey Canyon disaster on technology and national and international efforts to deal with supertanker generated oil pollution: an impetus for change?" (1973). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 8988. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/8988 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE IMPACT OF THE TORREY CANYON DISASTER ON TECHNOLOGY AND NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO DEAL WITH SUPERTANKER GENERATED OIL POLLUTION; AN IMPETUS FOR CHANGE? By Craig Vance Wilson B.A., University of Montana, 1971 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1973 Approved by: -/ Chairman, Board of Examiners Dean, Gradate School 1 i f 19 7 } Date X / Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMl Number: EP39789 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMl Dissertation Publishmg UMl EP39789 Published by ProQuest LLC (2013). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Pro.Q^st ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL SEA LAW .... 1 Introduction and Scope of the Treatise The Early Development of Sea Law The Development of International Sea Law Following World War Two The Law of the Sea Conferences Recent Developments in International Sea Law Conclusion II OIL, SUPERTANKERS, AND ECOLOGY.................30 Introduction The Need for Oil The Control of Oil The Control of Oil Tankers The Growth of the World Oil Supertanker Fleet The Definition of Pollution Sources of Marine Oil Pollution Oil Pollution Introduced to the Oceans by Ships Future Problems of Marine Oil Pollution Oil on the Water Methods of Dealing with Oil on Water The Effect of Oil on Marine Associated Organisms Conclusion III THE TORREY CANYON CATASTROPHE .............. 76 Introduction The Ship and Her Master The Owners of the Torrey Canyon The Torrey Canyon's Last Journey 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The Oil at Sea Oil on British Beaches Maneuvering Undertaken by the British Government Oil in France The Hearing Conducted by the Liberian Government on the Stranding The Torrey Canyon and Existing British Law Legal Steps Pursued by Great Britain and France The Biological Consequences of Crude Oil from the Torrey Canyon on Birds, Marine, and Inter^ï3a1 Life Conclusion IV NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEGAL EFFORTS TO DEAL WITH POLLUTION......................... 142 Introduction Regulation of Oil Pollution by Municipal Law The Problem of Liability The Development of IMCO International Oil Pollution Conventions Actions of Other International Bodies Efforts of Non-Governmental Groups The Views of Various Experts on the Role of International Organization in Dealing With Environmental Pollution The Recent Actions of Canada Conclusion and Recommendations BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................... 195 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER I THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL SEA LAW Introduction and Scope of the Treatise Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll! Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain; Man marks the earth with ruin^his control Stops with the shore. -Byron International law, of which sea law is a part, is a body of principles, customs, and rules recognized as effec­ tively binding obligations by sovereign states and other international persons in their mutual relations. Since men first took to the sea in ships the concept of "freedom of the seas" has meant different things to dif­ ferent people. The phrase has proved ambiguous, unclear, and indeterminate. Powerful nations have often championed the phrase in their ideology, while ignoring it in practice. The primary problem faced by men and states has concerned the exercise of jurisdiction over the seas. There has been a vital difference between the jurisdiction that states claim over the water contiguous to their land borders and the jurisdiction they assert over the high seas. International sea law is an important part of the existing body of international law. The seas are used as Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. vehicles of movement, communication, and trade, as well as for the exploitation of resources. Almost all nations have sought to use the oceans for some purpose throughout history. To achieve their goals states have often made opposing claims in attempting to obtain authority. The strategies employed range between persuasion and coercion, and have included diplomatic, ideological, economic, and military methods. However, the vastness of the oceans has also caused the development of many cooperative ventures. There is now a trend aimed at the inclusive rather than the exclusive use of the world's seas. As a result, a degree of integration has occurred which has increased the use and enjoyment of the oceans. One of the great problems has been that deci­ sions relating to the oceans have too often been unorganized and decentralized due to the absence of effective supra­ national police power.^ Custom is probably the most important source of international sea law, and the great powers have greatly shaped its development. Chief Justice John Marshall of the United States Supreme Court declared in an 1833 deci­ sion that usage by nations becomes law, and established rules may be considered rules of law. ^William Burke and Myres McDougal, The Public Order of the Oceans (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1962], pp. T^x. Zjohn Colombos, The International Law of the Sea (London: Longman's Inc., 1961], p. 7. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Other important sources of international sea law include: treaties made between states which establish rules that the signing parties accept, judicial decisions of municipal and international courts, national statutes, the writings of jurists, and equity. The international law of the sea has been in per­ petual movement. In the twentieth century new ships, ex­ panded trade, travel and communication, use of the seas and their resources, and national and international pollu­ tion of the world’s oceans have necessitated the evolution of the law of the sea. This treatise is devoted to a contemporary interna­ tional problem of the seas. The paper analyzes the environ­ mental and legal problem of supertankers polluting the seas of the earth by accidental and casual crude oil pollution. Specifically, it deals with the Torrey Canyon catastrophe and its consequences on the existing sailing practices of supertankers, as well as with national and international sea law. In discussing this catastrophe it is necessary to analyze the environmental effects of oil on the sea, and the efforts to disperse oil spills. The material is organized to acquaint the reader with the historical evolution of rules governing the use of the seas, the current environmental problems and technological challenges presented by supertanker-caused oil pollution, and modern Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. national and international efforts to deal legally with such oil pollution. The paper is structured around a case study of the 1967 Torrey Canyon disaster which occurred off the coast of England. This wreck had a profound effect on exist­ ing national and international law, and revealed the glaring inadequacies of present technology for dealing with large scale oil pollution. The first chapter reveals that rules governing the high seas originated in early times. In order to understand contemporary problems of the seas, such as the national and international pollution of the seas, it is helpful to under­ stand the evolution of sea law. Over a period of years a schism developed over the control of the seas. Nation-states claimed sovereignty over certain areas, while the remaining oceanic waters were held in common ownership by the states