Compensation

There are different compensation schemes for the damage caused by oil pollution from oil tankers, most notably the Civil Liability Convention (CLC) and the Fund Convention. The extent to which oiled wildlife response can be compensated for is assessed on a case-by-case basis and the CLC and Fund Convention provide the necessary guidance to make this assessment. The capture, cleaning and rehabilitation of wildlife and also wildlife impact assessment are activities that can be compensated for.

The international oil pollution compensation regime

The International Oil Pollution Compensation Regime can be divided into three categories:

  • Tanker spills
  • Non-tanker spills
  • Mystery spills

The key organisations with regard to compensation issues are:

The International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC)

The International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC Funds) are three intergovernmental organisations (the 1971 Fund, the 1992 Fund and the Supplementary Fund) which provide compensation for oil pollution damage resulting from spills of persistent oil from tankers. Under this compensation regime the owner of a tanker is liable to pay compensation up to a certain limit for oil pollution damage following an escape of persistent oil from his ship. If that amount does not cover all the admissible claims, further compensation is available from the 1992 Fund if the damage occurs in a State which is a Member of that Fund. Additional compensation may also be available from the Supplementary Fund if the State is a Member of that Fund as well.

These three intergovernmental organisations, which have a joint Secretariat in London, were established at different times, have different maximum amounts of compensation and have different Member States.

The IOPC Funds are financed by levies on certain types of oil carried by sea. The levies are paid by entities which receive oil after sea transport, and normally not by States. Anyone who has suffered pollution damage in a Member State may make a claim against the IOPC Funds for compensation. Information on the types of claims which are admissible is available in the Claims Manuals.