Roles and Responsibilities of all Parties in the Mitigation, Clean up and Compensation of a Spill of Persistant Oils from an Oil Tanker

Exercise co-ordination - Tony Arden

Tony Arden – My initial brief for the counter-pollution exercise was co-ordination, general issues, initial information and scenario, forms and checklists. During the planning phase of the exercise I acted as group chair as the group developed the exercise. Subsequently I created the scenario for the exercise using "real world" information such as the vessel involved which is based on the RFA Oakleaf, a support tanker of the Royal Navy and topographic maps and marine charts. Most of the forms and checklists were obtained from the National Contingency Plan for Marine Pollution from Shipping and Offshore Installations (NCP). At the start of the exercise the scenario and checklists were distributed and I then acted as the group co-ordinator whilst the exercise was played through.

Links -

• Maritime and Coastguard Agency Scientific, Technical and Operational Advice Notes. Available at: http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-pollutionresponse/mcga-stop.htm

• National Contingency Plan for Marine Pollution from Shipping and Offshore Installations. Available at: http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/ncp_final_version_-_august_2006.pdf

• The International Regime for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage. Available at: http://www.iopcfund.org/npdf/genE.pdf

Media - Mathew Reed

A major maritime incident is of interest to local media and dependent on the scale and nature of the incident, may result in national and international media attention, it is in the public interest and the interest of all concerned to keep the media informed as fully and as regularly as possible. Failure to consider the media response at an early stage may have serious implications for the management of the whole incident. Within the different phases of a major maritime disaster a media team are responsible for various tasks. Some of which include:

• Consideration of what information to give the local media

• Establishing a local spokesperson

• Setting up a media center and press office

• Making arrangements for the media to visit the site, possibly including transport

• Giving regular briefings to assuage the media's requirements

Harbour Authority - Amy Brock-Morgan

The role of the Harbour Authority (HA) is to assist the Salvage Control Unit, asses the damage of the ship (by taking a pilot boat out to the damaged vessel and talking to the master) after which a POLREP is completed. The HA liaises with the MCA, SOSREP, the ITOF (Information Tanker Federation LTD), and the shoreline response. The severity of an oil spill is divided into 3 tiers, tier 1 is local, tier 2 is regional and tier 3 is national. At tier 3 the HA hands the responsibility to the SOSREP as the HA can become liable for any leaking vessels within the port remit. The HA takes a position within the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) and liaises with the Salvage Rescue Unit (SRU) making necessary arrangement for the damaged boat to be brought into port for refuge and repairs. The HA makes continuous records of the event and all the equipment which is needed for compensation purposes.

Level of Response and Salvage - Rowena Johnson

When an oil spill occurs the first decision that must be made is what the level of response should be, whether it is local, regional or national. Because once there is a shipping casualty this means there is a risk of significant pollution that will require a salvage operation. The national response units must then be set up, including at sea response, harbour response, shoreline response and environmental monitoring. Then decisions about how the situation is to be handled must be made, what the salvage options are for example, can it be towed and where is most convenient, if this not possible other options must be explored. Also how to deal with any remaining oil or cargo on board in order to minimise the amount of pollution going into the sea.

Shoreline Response Center - James Deane

The operation of the shoreline response follows guide lines that are based on whether the most affected local authority can cope with the situation in their jurisdiction. It is when this ability to cope with the situation is exceeded that a shoreline response team is set up. This team must contain representatives of all the local authority services that may need to participate in the clean up and monitoring process.Each local authority has a contingency plan which should specify how to set up a shoreline response center (SRC) in the light of its own practices and organisation. The necessary authorisations are contained within this contingency plan to enable the local SRC to make decisions on behalf of other local authorities concerned. The contingency plan contains advice pertaining to what equipment and workforce is at the disposal of the SRC. Arrangements detailing accommodation, and catering for members which may need to be housed during the incident are also included in the plan.Waste disposal arrangements and contacts are disclosed detailing temporary, intermediate and final disposal of waste produced by the response. Health and safety guidance is included in the plan to protect the workforce and maps outlining sensitive and protected areas.


At Sea Response - Lucas lowe Houghton

All techniques for cleaning up oil pollution at sea have limitations. The distance of the casualty from shore, the type of oil, weather conditions, currents, and the time taken for resources to reach the scene can significantly affect the effectiveness of different techniques. MCA therefore carefully evaluates the circumstances of each incident before mobilising equipment or other resources for Sea Response deployment.

Co-ordinating international assistance and cooperation - Joe Revis

The MCA headquarters are responsible for co-ordinating international assistance and have a duty to notify other Member States (part of the international frameworks for cooperation in combating accidental pollution) In the case of a TIER THREE incident, Member States have a right to call upon other Member States for support. This may be in any form of support ranging from; civil protection, marine pollution prevention/cleanup and expert advice situations. Government experts specializing in emergency situations may be requested from other Member States. These experts may also act as ‘liaison officers’ to coordinate responsive measures from their own Member States.

The UK is party to several international agreements which provide for co-operation in dealing with major marine pollution incidents, these include:

OPRC Convention

Bonn Agreement

Mancheplan

Norbit Agreement

The UK/ Ireland Agreement

The European Union

Environmental Advice & Monitoring – Ken McMullen

Any maritime incident within the UK requires an Environmental Group, to advice those involved in operations at sea including salvage and shoreline clean up. The Environment Group (EG) also provides comprehensive advice to all response units on environmental aspects and the impacts of these operations. As well as providing expert advice on data and information, there may be a need to collect real time environmental data so as to offer accurate baseline data of vulnerable environmental features immediately before the impact of the pollution plume, so that the damage can be quantified. Throughout the incident tracking of preventive and counter pollution methods need to be measured whilst assessing the overall long term environmental impact.

· www.mcga.gov.uk – Marine Coastguard Agency

· www.archive.official-documents.co.uk – Sea Empress oil spill

· www.mfa.gov.uk – Marin and Fisheries Agency

www.cefas.co.uk – Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science


Marine Insurers

Shipowners generally have two types of insurance: "hull" insurance and "liability" insurance. A shipowner's hull insurance covers damage to the ship's hull or machinery and a proportion of the members of the International Group Protection of traditional salvage awards. Liability insurance covers the shipowner's liability to third parties, including the cost of reasonable measures taken to prevent or minimise pollution and special environment awards to salvors. Most shipowner's take out liability insurance by entering their ship with one of the members of the International Group of Protection and Indemnity (P&I) clubs.


The Compensation Regime For Oil Spills - Simon Pattenden

How Much Compensation is Available

An example of the compensation regime for oil spills can be observed with the events of 2002 and the sunken tanker Prestige. The Prestige oil spill predominantly affected the Spanish region of Galicia and was noted in the news for its environmental destruction and in the following reference for the compensation settlement in which it arrived. “The Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska in 1989 ended up costing $2.1bn in clean-up expenditure and compensation - the vast majority of it paid by the Exxon oil company after a series of court cases. Maritime insurance and compensation experts believe this level of cost is not comparable to the Prestige case as compensation is determined in very different ways in Europe and America.” (BBC 2002)

Oil spills hit the headlines because of their vast compensatory payouts and because of the environmental damage that occurs. In the case of HMS Grey Tuna the compensation payout was legally contentious due to the ship’s single hull and age. Payment of compensation is determined by three conventions, the first is the 1971 Fund the second is the 1992 Civil Liability Convention, which determines the ship owner pays; the last is the 1992 Fund Protocol whereby the Supplementary Fund pays.

What is the International Oil Pollution Fund 1992 (IOPC)

The IOPC is an intergovernmental organization providing compensation for oil damage by transportation of tanker. The IOPC consists of three organizations the 1971 Fund, the 1992 Fund and the Supplementary Fund. (IOPC 2008)

What is a Supplementary Fund?

The 1992 Fund was established in 1996 to provide financial support for the increasing amount of oil transportation occurring across the world and subsequent increase in environmental damage from marine oil spills. The fund comprises of finance from businesses and Member States who transport and receive oil oversea. The Assembly and the Executive Committee govern the 1992 fund, the Executive Committee comprises of 15 member states and provides authority to approve and pay claims whilst the Assembly has the final word on this approval.

Damage Covered

Compensation payout is broken down into damage criteria and is determined by the following:

• · Clean-up and preventative measures
• · Property damage
• · Consequential loss
• · Pure economic loss
• · Environmental damage
• . Use of advisers

Finance & Prosecution - Luke Edwin Marsh

The introduction of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), is the instigation of the correct and planned method for a effective response towards marine pollution from an oil spill incident. It is pertinent to consider these aspects of a planned response to ultimate the level of response, and install the mechanics towards limiting and reducing effects to the wider marine environment during an incident.
In regards to the prosecution towards the compensatory necessities for a person or organisation The incident must be scrutinised to insure the relevant facts are established, and, where there is legitimate claim, the UK and International Community has in place legally bindings rules and regulations that not only allow for the plaintiff to obtain compensation, but also the reduction in incident occurring.

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