Pollution Prevention, Response and Compensation - Prevention of Pollution of the Marine Environment from Vessels - page 44

done. 17 SOPEPs shall include: the procedure to be followed to report an oil
pollution incident; a list of contact authorities or persons in case of oil pollution
incident; a detailed description of immediate action to reduce and control the
discharge of oil after an incident; and a point of contact on the ship for coordinating
with national and local authorities for combating the pollution. 18
As discharge of oil may also occur during the transfer of oil between tanks,
Annex-I of the MARPOL Convention was amended in 2009 to include a new
chapter, Chap. 8 . 19 Applicable to oil tankers of 150 gross tonnage and above
engaged in the transfer of oil cargo between oil tankers at sea (STS) for operations
conducted on or after 1 April 2012, 20 this new chapter obligates oil tankers
conducting STS operations to carry on board a STS operations plan. 21 Chapter 8
also requires oil tankers to give advance notification to the coastal State if there are
any planned STS operations within the territorial sea and exclusive economic zone
of that State. 22
Apart from tankers carrying oils, fuel oils of other ships may also be a source of
oil pollution. In 2006, Annex-I was amended to include a new regulation, Regula-
tion 12A. This new regulation obligates ships delivered on or after 1 August 2010,
with the aggregate oil fuel capacity of 600 m 3 , to adhere to special requirements
regarding protected location of the fuel tanks and performance standards for
accidental oil fuel outflow. 23
While these abovementioned changes to Annex-I were undoubtedly important,
the most significant was the phasing out of single-hull oil tankers and the introduc-
tion of double-hulled oil tankers. The USA unsuccessfully tried to incorporate
double hull oil tankers in the 1973 Convention and the 1978 Protocol. However,
the Exxon Valdez incident in 1989, 24 and the USA s subsequent unilateral action in

promulgating the Oil Pollution Act 1990 (OPA), proved catalytic in influencing

'

17 Guidelines for the development of Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plans (SOPEP), resolu-
tion MEPC.54(32), IMO Doc. MEPC 32/20, Annex 4(6 March 1992). It was amended by
resolution MEPC.86 (44), Amendments to the Guidelines for the development of Shipboard Oil
Pollution Emergency Plans, IMO Doc. MEPC 44/20, Annex 8 (12 April 2000). Also see Guide-
lines for the development of Shipboard Marine Pollution Emergency Plans of Oil and/or Noxious
Liquid Substances, Resolution MEPC.85 (44), IMO Doc. IMO Doc. MEPC 44/20, Annex
7 (12 April 2000). It was amended by resolution MEPC.137(53), Report of the Marine Environ-
ment Protection Committee on Its Fifty-Third Session, Annex 26, IMO Doc. MEPC 53/24/Add.2
(1 August 2005).
18

MARPOL 73/78, Annex-I reg. 37.

19

Resolution MEPC.186(59), Report of the Marine Environment Protection Committee on its
Fifty-ninth Session, Annex 22, IMO Doc. MEPC 59/24/Add.1 (28 July 2009).
20

MARPOL 73/78, Annex-I reg. 40.

21

MARPOL 73/78, Annex-I reg. 41.
22 MARPOL 73/78, Annex-I reg. 42.
23 MARPOL73/78, Annex I reg. 12A. See Resolution MEPC.141(54), Report of the Marine
Environment Protection Committee on its Fifty-Fourth Session, Annex 2, IMO Doc. MEPC
54/21 (27 March 2006).
24 The tanker Exxon Valdez spilled more than 11 million gallons of oil.