International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage

ARTICLE VII

1. The owner of a ship registered in a Contracting State and
more than 2,000 tons of oil in bulk as cargo shall be required to
insurance or other financial security, such as the guarantee of a bank or a
certificate delivered by an international compensation fund, in the sums
fixed by applying the limits of liability prescribed in Article.V, paragraph
I to cover his liability for pollution damage under this Convention.
2. A certificate attesting that insurance or other financial security
is in force in accordance with the provisions of this Convention
shall be issued to each ship. It shall be issued or certified by
the appropriate authority of the state of the ship’s registry after determining
that the requirements of paragraph I of this article
have been complied with. This certificate shall
be in the form of the annexed model and shall contain the following
particulars:
(a) name of ship and port of registration;
(b) name and principal place of business of owner;
(c) type of security;
(d) name and principal place of business of insurer or other person
giving security and, where appropriate, place of business where the
insurance or security is established;
(e) period of validity of certificate which shall not be longer than the
period of validity of the insurance or other security.
3. The certificate shall be in the official language or languages of the
issuing state. If the language used is neither English nor French, the text
shall include a translation into one of these languages.
4. The certificate shall be carried on board the ship and a copy shall
be deposited with the authorities who keep the record of the ship’s registry.
5. An insurance or other financial security shall not satisfy the
requirements of this article if it can cease, for reasons other than the
expiry of the period of validity of the insurance or security specified in
the certificate under paragraph 2 of this article, before three months
have elapsed from the date on which notice of its termination is given to
the authorities referred to in paragraph 4 of this article, unless
the certificate has been surrendered to these authorities or a new
certificate has been issued within the said period. The foregoing
provisions shall similarly apply to any modification which results in
the insurance or security no longer satisfying the requirements of
this article.
6. The state of registry shall, subject to the provisions of
this article, determine the conditions of issue and validity of the
certificate.
7. Certificates issued or certified under the authority of a
Contracting State shall be accepted by other Contracting States for the
purposes of this Convention and shall be regarded by other Contracting States
as having the same force as certificates issued or certified by them.
A Contracting State may at any time request consultation with the state of
a ship’s registry should it believe that the insurer or guarantor named in
the certificate is not financially capable of meeting the obligations imposed
by this Convention.
8. Any claim for compensation for pollution damage may be brought
directly against the insurer or other person providing financial security
for the owner’s liability for pollution damage. In such case the defendant
may, irrespective of the actual fault or privity of the owner, avail himself
of the limits of liability prescribed in Article V, paragraph 1. He may
further avail himself of the defences (other than the bankruptcy or winding
up of the owner) which the owner himself would have been entitled to
invoke. Furthermore, the defendant may avail himself of the defence that
the pollution damage resulted from the wilful misconduct of the owner
himself, but the defendant shall not avail himself of any other defence which
be might have been entitled to invoke in proceedings brought by the
owner against him. The defendant shall in any event have the right to
require the owner to be joined in the proceedings.
9. Any sums provided by insurance or by other financial security
maintained in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article shall be
available exclusively for the satisfaction of claims under this
Convention.
10. A Contracting State shall not permit a ship under its flag to
which this article applies to trade unless a certificate has been issued
under paragraph 2 or 12 of this article.
11. Subject to the provisions of this article, each Contracting
State shall ensure, under its national legislation, that insurance or
other security to the extent specified in paragraph I of this article is
in force in respect of any ship, wherever registered, entering or leaving a
port in its territory, or arriving at or leaving an off-shore terminal in
its territorial sea if the ship actually carries more than 2,000 tons of oil
in bulk as cargo.
12. If insurance or other financial security is not maintained
in respect of a ship owned by a Contracting State, the provisions of
this article relating thereto shall not be applicable to such ship, but the
ship shall carry a certificate issued by the appropriate authorities of
the state of the ship’s registry stating that the ship is owned by that
state and that the ship’s liability is covered within the limits prescribed
by Article V, paragraph 1. Such a certificate shall follow as closely
as practicable the model prescribed by paragraph 2 of this article.

ARTICLE VIII

Rights of compensation under this Convention shall be extinguished
unless an action is brought thereunder within three years from the date when
The damage occurred. However, in no case shall an action be brought after
six years from the date of the incident which caused the damage. Where
this incident consists of a series of occurrences, the six years’ period
shall run from the date of the first such occurrence.

ARTICLE IX

1. Where an incident has caused pollution damage in the territory
including the territorial sea of one or more Contracting States, or
measures have been taken to prevent or minimize pollution
such territory including the territorial sea, actions for compensation
may only be brought in the courts of any such Contracting State
Reasonable notice of any such action shall be given to the defendant.
2. Each Contracting State shall ensure that its courts possess the
necessary jurisdiction to entertain such actions for compensation.
3. After the fund has been constituted in accordance with Article V
the courts of the state in which the fund is constituted shall be
exclusively competent to determine all matters relating to the apportionment
and distribution of the fund.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage.