Torres, Juan Miguel N.

4/21/2021
BS MARE 3B MarLaw

X Vessel an oil tanker, Owned by XYZ Shipping Company, because of hitting a

stationary object, its cargoes and oil, spills into the sea and caused it to capsize. As a
result, there was an extensive pollution in the water and nearby shorelines. The oil spill
also contaminated the nearby coastal areas leaving millions of marine species dead and
thousand families without source of income through fishing. As a result also, the
government was forced to prohibit fishing and any kind of fishing activities in the area,
including tourism activities. It was also found out that the Captain at the time of collision
was not at the deck to oversee the incident.

Discuss the following:

1. Implication on incident under the International Safety Management under the
SOLAS. What is the liability of the Management?
The ISM Code establishes an internationally recognized standard for the organization of
a shipping company’s management in relation to safety and pollution prevention. It is
not directly concerned with the civil and criminal liability of the ship owner for maritime
claims and the ship owner’s insurance cover. However, considering that most of the
casualties in shipping and marine pollution incidents are the result of crew negligence,
ineffective management and lack of communications between the vessel and the shore
based managers, the ISM Code will impact upon all ship owners because the court is
likely to treat it as the measure of liability in every situation where managerial standards
and faults have to be examined. The contents of the
ISM Code will constitute guidance to the judges as to what constitutes “best practice” in
ship management and operation.
The ship owner has to establish, maintain and implement a Safety Management System
(SMS) which meets the requirements of the ISM Code. The impact on civil liability
aspects will be more focused on the impact on ship owner’s liability for cargo loss or
damage and ship owner’s legal right to limit his liability for claims. Factors such as
seaworthiness, crew’s negligence, actual fault and privet, recklessness with knowledge
and the role of the designated person(s).
2. The oil pollution liability and compensation based on the 1992 International
Conventions on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage and on the Establishment
of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage.
The Civil Liability Convention was adopted to ensure that adequate compensation is
available to persons who suffer oil pollution damage resulting from maritime casualties
involving oil-carrying ships. The Convention places the liability for such damage on the
owner of the ship from which the polluting oil escaped or was discharged. Subject to a
number of specific exceptions, this liability is strict; it is the duty of the owner to prove in
each case that any of the exceptions should in fact operate. However, except where
the owner has been guilty of actual fault, they may limit liability in respect of any one
incident. The Convention requires ships covered by it to maintain insurance or other
financial security in sums equivalent to the owner's total liability for one incident.
The Convention applies to all seagoing vessels actually carrying oil in bulk as cargo,
but only ships carrying more than 2,000 tons of oil are required to maintain insurance in
respect of oil pollution damage. Under this Convention, the registered ship owner has
strict liability for pollution damage caused by the escape or discharge of persistent oil
from his ship. This means that he is liable even in the absence of fault on his part. He is
exempt from liability only if he proves that the damage resulted from an act of war,
hostilities, civil war, insurrection or a natural phenomenon of an exceptional, inevitable
and irresistible character, or the damage was wholly caused by an act or omission done
with the intent to cause damage by a third party, or the damage was wholly caused by
the negligence or other wrongful act of any Government or other authority responsible
for the maintenance of lights or other navigational aids, in the exercise of that function.

CLC convention can be summarized in four points:

-Ship owner is liable for the oil spills originating from his ship
-There are very few exceptions to this liability to the ship owners in case of oil spills from
their ships
-There is a maximum limit of liability set out in CLC according to the tonnage of the ship.
This limit will not be applicable if owner is at fault
-It is compulsory for the ship owners to take insurance to cover his liability in case of oil
pollution from his ships