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INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE PREVENTION OF POLLUTION OF
THE SEA BY OIL Disclaimer
The Governments
represented at the International Conference on Pollution of the Sea by Oil held
in London from 26 April 1954 to 12 May 1954,
Desiring to take action by common agreement to prevent pollution
of the sea by oil discharged from ships, and considering that this end may best
be achieved by the conclusion of a Convention,
Have accordingly appointed the undersigned plenipotentiaries,
who, having communicated their full powers, found in good and due form, have
agreed as follows:
Article I
(1) For the purposes of the present
Convention, the following expressions shall (unless the context otherwise
requires) have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them that is to say:
'The Bureau' has the meaning
assigned to it by Article XXI;
'Discharge' in relation to oil or to oily mixture means any discharge or escape
howsoever caused;
'Heavy diesel
oil' means diesel oil, other than those distillates of which more than 50 per
cent by volume distills at a temperature not exceeding 340øC. when tested by
A.S.T.M. Standard Method D.86/59;
'Instantaneous rate of discharge of oil content' means the rate of discharge of
oil in litres per hour at any instant divided by the speed of the ship in knots
at the same instant;
'Mile' means
a nautical mile of 6,080 feet or 1,852 metres;
'Nearest land.' The term 'from the nearest land' means from the
baseline from which the territorial sea of the territory in question is
established in accordance with the Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and
the Contiguous Zone, 1958, except that, for the purposes of this Convention from
the nearest land' off the north- eastern coast of Australia shall mean from a
line drawn from a point on the coast of Australia in latitude 11ø south,
longitude 142ø 08' east to a point in latitude 10 35' south, longitude 141 55'
east -
thence to a point latitude
10ø 00' south, longitude 142ø 00' east thence to a point latitude 9ø 10' south,
longitude 143ø 52' east thence to a point latitude 9ø 00' south, longitude 144ø
30' east thence to a point latitude 13ø 00' south, longitude 144ø 00' east
thence to a point latitude 15ø 00' south, longitude 146ø 00' east thence to a
point latitude 18ø 00' south, longitude 147ø 00' east thence to a point latitude
21ø 00' south. longitude 153ø 00' east thence to a point on the coast o f
Australia in latitude 24ø 42' south, longitude 153ø 15' east. 'Oil' means crude
oil, fuel oil, heavy diesel oil and lubricating oil. and 'oily' shall be
construed accordingly;
'Oily
mixture' means a mixture with any oil content;
'Organization' means the Inter-Governmental Maritime
Consultative Organization;
'Ship'
means any sea-going vessel of any type whatsoever, including floating craft,
whether self-propelled or towed by another vessel, making a sea voyage; and
'tanker' means a ship in which the greater part of the cargo space is
constructed or adapted for the carriage of liquid cargoes in hulk and which is
not, for the time being, carrying a cargo other than oil in that part of its
cargo space.
(2) For the purposes
of the present Convention, the territories of a Contracting Government mean the
territory of the country of which it is the Government and any other territory
for the international relations of which it is responsible and to which the
convention shall have been extended under Article XVIII.
Article II
(1) The present Convention shall
apply to ships registered in any of the territories of a Contracting Government
and to unregistered ships having the nationality of a Contracting Party, except:
(a) tankers of under 150 tons
gross tonnage and other ships of under 500 tons gross tonnage, provided that
each Contracting Government will take the necessary steps, so far as is
reasonable and practicable, to apply the requirements of the Convention to such
ships also, having regard to their size, service and the type of fuel used for
their propulsion;
(b) ships for
the time being engaged in the whaling industry when actually employed on whaling
operations;
(c) ships for the time
being navigating the Great Lakes of North America and their connecting and
tributary waters as far east as the lower exit of St. Lambert Lock at Montreal
in the Province of Quebec, Canada;
(d) naval ships and ships for the time being used as naval auxiliaries.
(2) Each Contracting Government
undertakes to adopt appropriate measures ensuring that requirements equivalent
to those of the present Convention are, so far as is reasonable and practicable,
applied to the ships referred to in subparagraph (d) of paragraph (1) of this
Article.
Article III
Subject to the provisions of Articles IV
and V:
(a) the discharge from a
ship to which the present Convention applies, other than a tanker, of oil or
oily mixture shall be prohibited except when the following conditions are all
satisfied:
(i) the ship is
proceeding en route;
(ii) the
instantaneous rate of discharge of oil content does not exceed 60 litres per
mile;
(iii) the oil content of the
discharge is less than 100 parts per 1,000,000 parts of the mixture;
(iv) the discharge is made as far as
practicable from the nearest land;
(b) the discharge from a tanker to which the present Convention applies of oil
or oily mixture shall be prohibited except when the following conditions are all
satisfied
(i) the tanker is
proceeding en route;
(ii) the
instantaneous rate of discharge of oil content does not exceed 60 litres per
mile;
(iii) the total quantity of
oil discharged on a ballast voyage does not exceed 1/15,000 of the total
cargo-carrying capacity;
(iv) the
tanker is more than 50 miles from the nearest land;
(e) the provisions of sub-paragraph (b) of this Article
shall not apply to:
(i) the
discharge of ballast from a cargo tank which, since the cargo was last carried
therein, has been so cleaned that any effluent therefrom, if it were discharged
from a stationary tanker into clean calm water on a clear day, would produce no
visible traces of oil on the surface of the water; or
(ii) the discharge of oil or oily mixture from machinery
space bilges which shall be governed by the provisions of sub-paragraph (a) of
this Article.
Article IV
Article III shall not apply to:
(a) the discharge of oil or of oily
mixture from a ship for the purpose of securing the safety of a ship, preventing
damage to a ship or cargo , or saving life at sea;
(b) the escape of oil or of oily mixture resulting from damage
to a ship or unavoidable leakage, if all reasonable precautions have been taken
after the occurrence of the damage or discovery of the leakage for the purpose
of preventing or minimizing the escape;
Article V
Article
III shall not apply to the discharge of oily mixture from the bilges of a ship
during the period of twelve months following the date on which the present
Convention comes into force for the relevant territory in accordance with
paragraph ( I ) of Article II.
Article VI
(1) Any contravention of Articles III and IX shall be an
offence punishable under the law of the relevant territory in respect of the
ship in accordance with paragraph (I) of Article II.
(2) The penalties which may be imposed under the law of
any of the territories of a Contracting Government in respect of the unlawful
discharge from a ship of oil or oily mixture outside the territorial sea of that
territory shall be adequate in severity to discourage any such unlawful
discharge and shall not be less than the penalties which may be imposed under
the law of that territory in respect of the same infringements within the
territorial sea.
(3) Each
Contracting Government shall report to the Organization the penalties actually
imposed for each infringement.
Article VI bis
(1) Every tanker
to which the present Convention applies and for which the building contract is
placed on or after the date of coming into force of this Article shall be
constructed in accordance with the provisions of Annex C. In addition, every
tanker to which the present Convention applies and for which the building
contract is placed, or in the absence of a building contract the keel of which
is laid or which is at a similar stage of construction, before the date of
coming into force of this Article shall be required, within two years after that
date, to comply with the provisions of Annex C, where such a tanker falls into
either of the following categories:
(a) a tanker, the delivery of which is after I January 1977; or
(b) a tanker to which both the
following conditions apply:
(i)
delivery is not later than I January 1977; and (ii) the building contract is
placed after I January 1972, or in cases where no building contract has
previously been placed the keel is laid, or the tanker is at a similar stage of
construction, after 30 June 1972.
(2) A tanker required under paragraph (I) of this Article to be
constructed in accordance with Annex C and so constructed shall carry on board a
certificate issued or authorized by the responsible Contracting Government
attesting such compliance. A tanker which under paragraph (I) of this Article is
not required to be constructed in accordance with Annex C shall carry on board a
certificate to that effect issued or authorized by the responsible Contracting
Government, or if the tanker does comply with Annex C although not required to
do so, it may carry on board a certificate issued or authorized by the
responsible Contracting Government attesting such compliance. A Contracting
Government shall not permit such tankers under its flag to trade unless the
appropriate certificate has been issued.
(3) Certificates issued under the authority of a Contracting
Government shall be accepted by the other Contracting Governments for all
purposes covered by the present Convention. They shall be regarded by the other
Contracting Governments as having the same force as certificates issued by them.
(4) If a Contracting Government
has clear grounds for believing that a tanker required under paragraph (I) of
this Article to be constructed in accordance with Annex C entering ports in its
territory or using off-shore terminals under its control does not in fact comply
with Annex C, such Contracting Government may request consultation with the
Government with which the tanker is registered. If, after such consultation or
otherwise, the Contracting Government is satisfied that the tanker does not
comply with Annex C, such Contracting Government may for this reason deny such a
tanker access to ports in its territorial waters or to off-shore terminals under
its control until such time as the Contracting Government is satisfied that the
tanker does comply.
Article VIII
(I) As from a date twelve months
after the present Convention comes into for the relevant territory in respect of
a ship in accordance with paragraph (1) of Article 11, such a ship shall be
required to be so fitted as to prevent, as far as reasonable and practicable,
the escape of oil into bilges, unless effective means are provided to ensure
that the oil in the bilges is not discharged in contravention of this
Convention.
(2) Carrying water
ballast in oil fuel tanks shall be avoided if possible.
Article VIII
(I) Each Contracting Government shall take all appropriate
steps to promote the provision of facilities as follows:
(a) according to the needs of ships using them, ports
shall be provided with facilities adequate for the reception, without causing
undue delay to ships, of such residues and oily mixtures as would remain for
disposal from ships other than tankers if the bulk of the water had been
separated from the mixture;
(b)
oil loading terminals shall be provided with facilities, adequate for the
reception of such residues and oily mixtures as would similarly remain for
disposal by tankers;
(c) ship
repair ports shall be provided with facilities adequate for the reception of
such residues and oily mixtures as would similarly remain for disposal by all
ships entering for repairs.
(2)
Each Contracting Government shall determine which are the ports and oil loading
terminals in its territories suitable for the purposes of sub-paragraphs (a),
(b) and (c) of paragraph (I) of this Article.
(3) As regards paragraph (I) of this Article, each Contracting
Government shall report to the Organization, for transmission to the Contracting
Government concerned, all cases where the facilities are alleged to be
inadequate.
Article IX
(1)
Of the ships to which the present Convention applies, every ship which uses oil
fuel and every tanker shall be provided with an oil record book. whether as part
of the ship's official log book or otherwise, in the form specified in the Annex
to this Convention.
(2) The oil
record book shall be completed on each occasion, on a tank- to-tank basis,
whenever any of the following operations take place in the ship: (a) for
tankers. (i) loading of oil cargo;
(ii) transfer of oil cargo during voyage;
(iii) discharge of oil cargo;
(iv) ballasting of cargo tanks;
(v) cleaning of cargo tanks;
(vi) discharge of dirty ballast;
(vii) discharge of water from slop-tanks;
(viii) disposal of residues;
(ix) discharge
overboard of bilge water containing oil which has accumulated in machinery
spaces whilst in port and the routine discharge at sea of bilge water containing
oil unless the latter has been entered in the appropriate log book;
(h) for ships other than tankers
(i) ballasting or cleaning of bunker
fuel tanks;
(ii) discharge of
dirty ballast or cleaning water from tanks referred to under (i) of this
sub-paragraph;
(iii) disposal of
residues;
(iv) discharge
overboard of bilge water containing oil which has accumulated in machinery
spaces whilst in port and the routine discharge at sea of bilge water containing
oil unless the latter has been entered in the appropriate log book.
In the event of such discharge or
escape of oil or oily mixture as is referred to in Article IV, a statement shall
be made in the oil record book of the circumstances of, and the reason for, the
discharge or escape.
(3) Each
operation described in paragraph (2) of this Article shall be fully recorded
without delay in the oil record book so that all the entries in the book
appropriate to that operation are completed. Each page of the book shall be
signed by the officer or officers in charge of the operations concerned and,
when the ship is manned, by the master of the ship. The written entries in the
oil record book shall be in an official language of the relevant territory in
respect of the ship in accordance with paragraph (I) of Article II, or in
English or French.
(4) Oil
record books shall be kept in such a place as to be readily available for
inspection at all reasonable times, and, except in the case of unmanned ships
under tow, shall be kept on board the ship. They shall be preserved for a period
of two years after the last entry has been made.
(5) The competent authorities of any of the territories of a
Contracting Government may inspect on board any ship to which the present
Convention applies, while within a port in that territory, the oil record book
required to be carried in the ship in compliance with the provisions of this
Article, and may make a true copy of any entry in that book and may require the
master of the ship to certify that the copy is a true copy of such entry. Any
copy so made which purports to have been certified by the master of the ship as
a true copy of an entry in the ship's oil record book shall be made admissible
in any judicial proceedings as evidence of the facts stated in the entry. Any
action by the competent authorities under this paragraph shall be taken as
expeditiously as possible and the ship shall not be delayed.
Article X
(1)
Any Contracting Government may furnish to the Government of the relevant
territory in respect of the ship in accordance with paragraph (I) of Article 11
particulars in writing of evidence that any provision of the present Convention
has been contravened in respect of that ship, wheresoever the alleged
contravention may have taken place. If it is practicable to do so, the competent
authorities of the former Government shall notify the master of the ship of the
alleged contravention.
(2) Upon
receiving such particulars, the Government so informed shall investigate the
matter, and may request the other Government to furnish further or better
particulars of the alleged contravention. If the Government so informed is
satisfied that sufficient evidence is available in the form required by its law
to enable proceedings against the owner or master of the ship to be taken in
respect of the alleged contravention, it shall cause such proceedings to be
taken as soon as possible. That Government shall promptly inform the Government
whose official has reported the alleged contravention, as well as the
Organization, of the action taken as a consequence of the information
communicated.
Article XI
Nothing in the present Convention shall
be construed as derogating from the powers of any Contracting Government to take
measures within its jurisdiction in respect of any matter to which the
Convention relates or as extending the jurisdiction of any Contracting
Government.
Article XII
Each Contracting Government shall send
to the Bureau and to the appropriate organ of the United Nations:
(a) the text of laws, decrees, orders
and regulations in force in its territories which give effect to the present
Convention;
(b) all official
reports or summaries of official reports in so far as they show the results of
the application of the provisions of the Convention, provided always that such
reports or summaries are not, in the opinion of that Government, of a
confidential nature.
Article
XIII
Any dispute between
Contracting Governments relating to the interpretation or application of the
present Convention which cannot be settled by negotiation shall be referred at
the request of either party to the International Court of Justice for decision
unless the parties in dispute agree to submit it to arbitration.
Article XIV
(l) The present Convention shall remain open for
signature for three months from this day's date and shall thereafter remain open
for acceptance.
(2) Subject to
Article XV, the Governments of States Members of the United Nations or of any of
the Specialized Agencies or parties to the Statute of the International Court of
Justice may become parties to the present Convention by: (a) signature without
reservation as to acceptance;
(b) signature subject to acceptance followed by acceptance; or
(c) acceptance.
(3) Acceptance shall be effected by the
deposit of an instrument of acceptance with the Bureau, which shall inform all
Governments that have already signed or accepted the present Convention of each
signature and deposit of an acceptance and of the date of such signature or
deposit.
Article XV
(I) The present Convention shall come
into force twelve months after the date on which not less than ten Governments
have become parties to the Convention including five Governments of countries
each with not less than 500,000 gross tons of tanker tonnage.
(2) (a) For each Government which signs
the Convention without reservation as to acceptance or accepts the Convention
before the date on which the Convention comes into force in accordance with
paragraph (I) of this Article it shall come into force on that date. For each
Government which accepts the Convention on or after that date, it shall come
into force three months after the date of the deposit of that Government's
acceptance .
(b) The Bureau
shall, as soon as possible, inform all Governments which have signed or accepted
the Convention of the date on which it will come into force.
Article XVI
(1) (a) The present Convention may be amended by
unanimous agreement between the Contracting Governments
(b) Upon request of any Contracting Government a
proposed amendment shall be communicated by the Organization to all Contracting
Govern ments for consideration and acceptance under this paragraph.
(2) (a) An amendment to the present
Convention may be proposed to the Organization at any time by any Contracting
Government, and such proposal if adopted by a two-thirds majority of the
Assembly of the Organization upon recommendation adopted by a two-thirds
majority of the Maritime Safety Committee of the Organization shall be
communicated by the Organization to all Contracting Governments for their
acceptance.
(b) Any such
recommendation by the Maritime safety Committee shall be communicated by the
Organization to all Contracting Governments for their consideration at least six
months before it is considered by the Assembly.
(3) (a) A conference of Governments to consider amendments to
the present Convention proposed by any Contracting Government shall at any time
be convened by the Organization upon the request of one-third of the Contracting
Governments.
(b) Every amendment
adopted by such conference by a two-thirds majority of the Contracting
Governments shall be communicated by the Organization to all Contracting
Governments for their acceptance.
(4) Any amendment communicated to Contracting Governments for
their acceptance under paragraph (2) or (3) of this Article shall come into
force for all Contracting Governments, except those which before it comes into
force make a declaration that they do not accept the amendment, twelve months
after the date on which the amendment is accepted by two-thirds of the
Contracting Governments.
(5) The
Assembly, by a two-thirds majority vote, including two-thirds of the Governments
represented on the Maritime Safety Committee, and subject to the concurrence of
two-thirds of the Contracting Governments to the present Convention, or a
conference convened under paragraph (3) of this Article by a two-thirds majority
vote, may determine at the time of its adoption that the amendment is of such an
important nature that any Contracting Government which makes a declaration under
paragraph (4) of this Article and which does not accept the amendment within a
period of twelve months after the amendment comes into force, shall, upon the
expiry of this period, cease to be a party to the present Convention.
(6) The Organization shall inform all
Contracting Governments of any amendments which come into force under this
Article, together with the date on which such amendments shall come into force.
(7) Any acceptance or
declaration under this Article shall be made by a notification in writing to the
Organization which shall notify all Contracting Governments of the receipt of
the acceptance or declaration.
Article XVII
(1) The present
Convention may he denounced by any Contracting Government at any time after the
expiration of a period of five years from the date on which the Convention comes
into force for that Government.
(2) Denunciation shall be ellected by a notification in writing addressed to the
Bureau, which shall notify all the Contracting Governments of any denunciation
received and of the date of its receipt.
(3) A denunciation shall take effect twelve months, or such
longer period as may be specified in the notification, after its receipt by the
Bureau.
Article XVIII
(1) (a) The united Nations in cases
where they are the administering authority for a territory or any Contracting
Government responsible for the international relations of a territory shall as
soon as possible consult with such territory in an endeavour to extend the
present Convention to that territory and may at any time by notification in
writing given to the Bureau declare that the Convention shall extend to such
territory.
(b) The present
Convention shall from the date of the receipt of the notification or from such
other date as may be specified in the notification extend to the territory named
therein.
(2)) (a) The United
Nations in cases where they are the administering authority for a territory or
any Contracting Government which has made a declaration under paragraph (I) of
this Article, at any time after the expiry of a period of five years from the
date on which the present Convention has been so extended to any territory, may
by a notification in writing given to the Bureau after consultation with such
territory declare that the Convention shall cease to extend to any such
territory named in the notification.
(b) The present Convention shall cease to extend to any
territory men tioned in such notification one year, or such longer period as may
be specified therein, after the date of receipt of the notification by the
Bureau
3) The Bureau shall
inform all the Contracting Governments of the extension of the present
Convention to any territory under paragraph (I) of this Article, and of the
termination of any such extension under the provisions of paragraph (2) stating
in each case the date from which the Convention has been or will cease to be so
extended
Article XIX
(1) In case of war or other
hostilities, a Contracting Government which considers it is affected, whether as
a belligerent or as a neutral, may suspend the operation of the whole or any
part of the present Convention in respect of all or of its territories. The
suspending Government shall immediately give notice of any such suspension to
the Bureau.
(2) The suspending
Government may at any time terminate such suspension shall in any event
terminate it as soon as it ceases to be justified under paragraph (1) of this
Article. Notice of such termination shall be given immediately to the Bureau by
the Government concerned.
(3)
The Bureau shall notify all Contracting Governments of any suspension or
termination of suspension under this Article.
Article XX
As
soon as the present Convention comes into force it shall be registered by the
Bureau with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Article XXI
The duties of the Bureau shall be carried out by the Government
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland unless and until the
Inter Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization comes into being and takes
over the duties assigned to it under the Convention signed at Geneva on the 6th
day of March, 1948, and thereafter the duties of the Bureau shall be carried out
by the said Organization.
In witness whereof the undersigned
plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention .
Done in London this twelfth day of May, 1954, in English
and French, both texts being equally authoritative, in a single copy, which
shall be deposited with the Bureau and of which the Bureau shall transmit
certified copies to all signatory and Contracting Governments.
Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies, 1994-1996
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