Page 13 - claims information pack ebook_e

Section 1: How does the compensation regime work?
The 1992 Civil Liability Convention 1.1.6
1.1.2 Under the 1992 Civil Liability Convention,
claims for compensation for oil pollution
damage caused by persistent oil may be
made against the registered owner of
the ship from which the oil that caused
the damage originated (or his insurer).
However, the shipowner can normally
limit his financial liability to an amount
determined by the size (tonnage) of the
particular ship involved. The shipowner is
obliged to maintain insurance to cover his
liability under the Convention, although this
obligation does not apply to ships carrying
less than 2 000 tonnes of oil as cargo.
1.1.3 The shipowner is liable to pay compensation
for pollution damage caused by the escape
or discharge of persistent oil from his ship
even if the pollution was not due to any
fault on his part. The shipowner is exempt
from this liability only in very special
circumstances.
The 1992 Fund Convention
1.1.7
1.1.4 The 1992 Fund was established in 1996
under the 1992 Fund Convention and is
financed by companies and other entities
in Member States that receive certain
types of oil carried by sea. The Fund is
an intergovernmental organisation set
up and governed by States.
1.1.5 The 1992 Fund is governed by two
bodies: the Assembly and the Executive
Committee. The Assembly is composed of
representatives of the governments of all
Member States. The Executive Committee,
composed of 15 Member States, is a
subsidiary body elected by the Assembly.
The main function of this Committee is to
approve claims. However, the Executive
Committee normally gives the Fund’s
Director very extensive authority to
approve and pay claims.
Under the 1992 Fund Convention additional
compensation is made available by the
1992 Fund when claimants do not obtain
full compensation under the 1992 Civil
Liability Convention. This can happen in the
following cases:
● The damage exceeds the limit of the
shipowner’s liability under the 1992 Civil
Liability Convention.
● The shipowner is not liable under the
1992 Civil Liability Convention because
the damage was caused either by a
grave natural disaster, or wholly caused
intentionally by a third party, or wholly
caused as a result of the negligence of
public authorities in maintaining lights or 11
other navigational aids.
● The shipowner is financially incapable of
meeting his obligations under the 1992
Civil Liability Convention in full, and the
insurance is insufficient to pay valid
compensation claims.
The 1992 Fund does not pay compensation if:
● the pollution damage resulted from an act
of war, hostilities, civil war or insurrection,
or was caused by a spill from a warship (in
which case the shipowner is also not liable
under the 1992 Civil Liability Convention), or
● the claimant cannot prove that the damage
resulted from an incident involving one or
more ships as defined in the Conventions
(that is, a laden, or, under certain
circumstances, unladen sea-going vessel
or seaborne craft constructed or adapted
to carry oil in bulk as cargo).