IOPC Funds Not Relevant to Stena Immaculate Collision

The International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC Funds) has offered its view on the collision between the Solong and Stena Immaculate off the north-east coast of the UK on March 10, saying:

“Whilst the United Kingdom is a 1992 Fund Member State and the Stena Immaculate appears to be a ship, as defined in the 1992 Civil Liability and Fund Conventions, according to reports, the tanker was carrying jet fuel, which is a non-persistent oil. Therefore, any claims for compensation in the event of pollution damage resulting from this incident would not be covered by the 1992 Conventions.  The IOPC Funds are therefore unable to intervene in this case.”

The Stena Immaculate was on charter to the US military and at anchor when the collision with the container ship Solong occurred off East Yorkshire. Both vessels caught fire and the size of the associated fuel spill is unclear at this stage.

The IOPC Funds provide financial compensation for oil pollution damage that occurs in Member States resulting from spills of persistent oil from tankers.

The incident would, however, have been covered by the pending 2010 HNS Convention had the Convention been in force. Unlike the 1992 Conventions, the HNS Convention covers personal injury claims, fire and explosion and incidents involving a wide range of hazardous and noxious substances, including jet fuel.  

Additionally, it is reported that the Solong was carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide which are also considered HNS under the 2010 Convention.

The history of the IOPC Funds began with the oil spill from the Torrey Canyon, which ran aground near the Scilly Isles in 1967, fouling UK and French coastlines. This incident exposed a number of serious shortcomings, in particular the absence of an international agreement on liability and compensation in the event of such a spill. It led the international community to establish a regime for compensation for victims of oil pollution under the auspices of the IMO.

The framework for the regime was the 1969 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (1969 Civil Liability Convention) and the 1971 International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution (1971 Fund Convention).

Over time, it became clear that the amount of compensation available for major incidents needed to be increased and the scope of the regime widened. This resulted in two further instruments, known as the 1992 Civil Liability Convention and the 1992 Fund Convention.

Following the Erika and Prestige incidents, a third instrument, the Protocol to the 1992 Fund Convention (Supplementary Fund Protocol), was adopted in 2003, providing additional compensation over and above that available under the 1992 Fund Convention for pollution damage in the States that become Parties to the Protocol.

The IOPC Funds are financed by contributions paid by entities that receive certain types of oil by sea transport. These contributions are based on the amount of oil received in the relevant calendar year, and cover expected claims, together with the costs of administering the Funds.