Members Handbook 20023 - ITOPF

claimants to provide the P&I insurer and
the 1992 Fund with the information they
require in a format that readily permits
analysis.
For this reason it is vital during any
incident that records are kept of what
was done, when, where and why in
order to support claims for the recovery
of the money spent in clean-up.
Unfortunately, pressures to deal with
practical clean-up problems often result
in record keeping being given less
attention than it deserves. The
appointment of a financial controller
at an early stage of an incident can
be valuable, both to co-ordinate
expenditure and to ensure that
adequate records are maintained.
Bunker Spills Convention
Recognition of the problems that can be
caused by spills of heavy bunker fuel
from non-tankers led to the adoption of
the International Convention on Civil
Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage,
which entered into force in 2008.
This IMO Convention seeks to ensure
that adequate compensation is promptly
available to persons who are required to
clean up or who suffer damage as a
result of spills of ships’ bunker oil, who
would not otherwise be compensated
under the 1992 CLC. Although strict
liability under the Bunker Spills
Convention extends beyond the
registered owner to the bareboat
charterer, manager and operator of the
ship, the Convention only requires the
registered owner of ships greater than
1,000 GT to maintain insurance or other
financial security. The level of cover
must be equal to the limits of liability
under the applicable national or
international limitation regime, but in no
case exceeding the amount calculated
in accordance with the Convention on
Limitation of Liability for Maritime
Claims, 1976, as amended.
HNS Convention
The International Convention on
Liability and Compensation for Damage
in Connection with the Carriage of
Hazardous and Noxious Substances by
Sea (HNS Convention) was adopted by
the IMO in May 1996. It aims to ensure
adequate, prompt and effective
compensation for damage that may
result from shipping accidents involving
hazardous and noxious substances.
The Convention entitles claimants to
compensation for loss or damage to
persons, property and the environment
caused by incidents involving cargoes of
oil, gases and chemicals, plus other
substances which are hazardous in
packaged form. Pollution damage caused
by persistent oils already covered by the
CLC and Fund Convention is excluded,
as is damage caused by radioactive
materials and coal.
The HNS Convention is modelled on the
CLC and Fund Convention. Thus, the
shipowner (and his P&I insurer) is
strictly liable to pay the first tier of
compensation whereas the second tier
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