Liability and compensation

Recommendations on liability and compensation in case of unknown producer of oil spill waste

This section will detail who is liable for waste collection, transport, treatment and disposal in case of unknown producer of waste (include also references to the national laws and regulations).

Recommendations on liability and compensation in case of known producer of oil spill waste, considering the different OSW's and origins

Applicable framework in case of oil spill waste from oil carrying tanker

This section will detail who is liable for waste management in case of oil spill from oil carrying tankers (include also references to the national laws and regulations).

The cost of oil spill waste treatment corresponds often to a large portion of the overall cost of the response operations (up to 50%). Some International Conventions, related to oil spill compensation, are relevant and may apply to the waste treatment.

A compensation regime for spills of persistent oil originating from tankers (bunker oil or cargo oil), was originally established in 1978 and is now based on two Conventions:

• the 1992 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (1992 Civil Liability Convention),
• the 1992 International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage (1992 Fund Convention), and
• a Protocol to the 1992 Fund Convention was adopted in 2003, which established a Supplementary Fund.

The IOPC Fund Claims Manual indicates that:

“Clean-up operations frequently result in considerable quantities of oil and oil debris being collected. Reasonable costs for storing and disposing of the collected material are accepted. If the claimant has received any extra income following the sale of the recovered oil, these proceeds would normally be deducted from any compensation to be paid.
(…)
Presentation of claims
It is essential that claims for the costs of clean-up are submitted with supporting documentation showing how the expenses for the operations are linked with the actions taken.(…)
Cost of temporary storage (if applicable) and of final disposal of recovered oil and oily material, including quantities disposed, unit cost and method of calculating the claimed rate.”
(Source: International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund, 2008. Claims Manual)

This three-level compensation regime can cover expenses related to oil spill waste treatment operations (as well as the cost incurred by the temporary and intermediate storage, the transport and handling of the oil and oily waste) if the incurred costs are “reasonable”, i.e. covering technically well-suited and cost-effective solutions.

In the rare cases involving persistent oil spills from tankers where the compensation limit is exceeded, further claims may be made against parties involved.

Note. The 1992 Civil Liability Convention does have a “channelling” of liability which involves that claims can only be made against the registered owner of the tanker concerned and prohibits claims against the servants or agents of the owner, members of the crew, the pilot, the charterer, manager or operator of the ship, or any person carrying out salvage operations or preventive measures. The owner is entitled to take recourse action against third parties who are not similarly protected, e.g. the shipper of the goods, in accordance with national laws.

A spill of non-persistent oil falls outside the above-mentioned international compensation regime, though incidents of this kind are less damaging to the environment and have not led to claims on a par with spills of persistent oil. In this case, domestic laws will apply.

For European countries, the Waste Directive could provide a remedy against the ship-owner as well as the charterer and shipper, in the absence of domestic laws to the contrary.

Applicable framework in case of oil spill waste from a vessel other than oil carrying tanker

This section will detail who is liable for waste management in case of oil spill from vessels other than oil carrying tankers (include also references to the national laws and regulations).

Applicable framework in case of oil spill waste from oil Exploration-production facility / refinery / terminal / storage / other type of oil handling facility

This section will detail who is liable for waste management in case of oil spill from production facility / refinery / terminal / storage / other type of oil handling facility (include also references to the national laws and regulations).