International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC) is an international maritime convention establishing measures for dealing with marine oil pollution incidents nationally and in co-operation with other countries. , there are 112 state parties to the convention. OPRC Convention was drafted within the framework of the

International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...

and adopted in 1990 entering into force in 1995. In 2000 a protocol to the Convention relating to hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) was adopted (the OPRC-HNS Protocol). In accordance with this convention and its annex, states-parties to the 1990 convention undertake, individually or jointly, to take all appropriate measures to prepare for and respond to oil pollution incidents.

Scope

The Convention applies to: *

vessels Vessel(s) or The Vessel may refer to: Biology * Blood vessel, a part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body *Lymphatic vessel, a thin walled, valved structure that carries lymph *Vessel element, a narrow wa ...

of any type whatsoever operating in the marine environment including

hydrofoil A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains sp ...

boats, air-cushion vehicles,

submersible A submersible is a small watercraft designed to operate underwater. The term "submersible" is often used to differentiate from other underwater vessels known as submarines, in that a submarine is a fully self-sufficient craft, capable of ind ...

s, and floating craft of any type; * fixed or floating offshore installations or structures engaged in gas or

oil exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth using petroleum geology. Exploration methods Visi ...

, exploitation or production activities, or loading or unloading of

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

; and * sea

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

s and oil handling facilities (those facilities which present a risk of an oil pollution incident, including, ', sea ports, oil terminals, pipelines and other oil handling facilities). The Convention does not apply to

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster an ...

s, naval auxiliary or other ships owned or operated by a state and used only on government non-commercial service. However, parties to the Convention ensure by the adoption of appropriate measures that such ships act in a manner consistent with the convention.

Oil pollution emergency plans

Ships are required to carry a shipboard oil pollution emergency plan, in accordance with the provisions adopted by the

(IMO) for this purpose. These plans are subject, while in a port or at an offshore terminal under the jurisdiction of a party, to inspection by officers duly authorized by that party. Operators of offshore units under the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

of the parties are required to have oil pollution emergency plans, which are co-ordinated with the national system for responding to oil pollution incidents, approved in accordance with procedures established by the competent national authority. Authorities or operators in charge of sea ports and oil handling facilities under the jurisdiction of parties are also required to have oil pollution emergency plans or similar arrangements which are co-ordinated with the national oil pollution response system).

Oil pollution reporting procedures

In accordance with the Convention masters or other persons having charge of ships flying the flag of a party and persons having charge of offshore units under the jurisdiction of a party are required to report without delay any event on their ship or offshore unit involving a discharge or probable discharge of oil: (i) in the case of a ship, to the nearest coastal state; (ii) in the case of an offshore unit, to the coastal state to whose jurisdiction the unit is subject. Masters or other persons having charge of ships flying the flag of a party and persons having charge of offshore units under the jurisdiction of a party are also required to report without delay in a similar way any observed event at sea involving a discharge of oil or the presence of oil. Persons having charge of sea ports and oil handling facilities under the jurisdiction of a party are required to report without delay any event involving a discharge or probable discharge of oil or the presence of oil to the competent national authority. Parties to the convention are required to instruct its maritime inspection vessels or

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. ...

and other appropriate services or officials to report without delay any observed event at sea or at a sea port or oil handling facility involving a discharge of oil or the presence of oil to the competent national authority or to the nearest coastal state; and request the pilots of civil aircraft to report without delay any observed event at sea involving a discharge of oil or the presence of oil to the nearest coastal state).

National and regional systems for preparedness and response

Each party is under obligation to establish a national system for responding promptly and effectively to oil pollution incidents. Such system comprises: # designated competent national authority or authorities with responsibility for oil pollution preparedness and response; # national operational contact point or points, responsible for the receipt and transmission of oil pollution reports; and # authority which is entitled to act on behalf of the state to request assistance or to decide to render the assistance requested. Also, the system includes a national contingency plan for preparedness and response outlining the organizational relationship of the various involved bodies, public or private, taking into account guidelines developed by the IMO. In addition, each party, either individually or through bilateral or multilateral co-operation and in co-operation with the oil and

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ex ...

industries,

port authorities In Canada and the United States, a port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority_for_a_special-purpose_district.html" ;"title="110. - 6910./ref> is a type of Nonprofit organization">nonprof ...

and other relevant entities, has to establish: * a minimum level of pre-positioned oil spill combating equipment and programmes for its use; * a programme of exercises for oil pollution response organizations and training of relevant personnel; * detailed plans and communication capabilities for responding to an oil pollution incident; and * a mechanism or arrangement to co-ordinate the response to an oil pollution incident with the capabilities to mobilize the necessary resources). Parties ensure that all relevant information is provided to the IMO.

International co-operation in pollution response

Parties are required to co-operate and provide advisory services, technical support and equipment for the purpose of responding to an oil pollution incident upon the request of any party affected or likely to be affected by such incident. The financing of the costs for such assistance is based on the provisions set out in the annex to the convention.

Salient features of OPRC

# It aims at providing a global framework for international cooperation in combating major incidents or threats of marine pollution. # Parties to the convention are required to establish measures in dealing with pollution incidents, either nationally or with other countries. # Ships are required to carry a shipboard oil emergency plans. # Operators of offshore units are also required to have oil pollution emergency plans or similar arrangements, which must be coordinated with national systems for responding promptly and effectively to oil pollution incidents. # Ships are required to report incidents to coastal authorities and the convention details the actions that are to be taken. # The convention calls for the stockpiles of oil spill combating equipment, oil spill combating exercises and development of detailed plans for dealing with pollution incidents. # Parties to the convention are required to provide assistance to others in the event of a pollution emergency and provision is made for the reimbursement of any assistance provided. # A protocol to OPRC relating to hazardous and noxious substances (the OPRC-HNS Protocol) was adopted in 2000.

References

* Gold, Edgar. International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation, 1990 – Report. 22 J. Mar. L. & Com. 341 (1991) * Moller, T. H. Santner, R. S. Oil spill preparedness and response–the role of industry. ITOPF. 1997 International Oil Spill Conferenc

* Nelson, P. Australia's National Plan to combat pollution of the sea by oil and other noxious and hazardous substances-Overview and current issues. Spill Science & Technology Bulletin, 2000 {{DEFAULTSORT:Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention Environmental treaties International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Law of the sea treaties International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Treaties concluded in 1990 Treaties entered into force in 1995 Treaties of Albania Treaties of Algeria Treaties of Angola Treaties of Antigua and Barbuda Treaties of Argentina Treaties of Australia Treaties of Azerbaijan Treaties of the Bahamas Treaties of Bahrain Treaties of Bangladesh Treaties of Benin Treaties of Brazil Treaties of Bulgaria Treaties of Cameroon Treaties of Canada Treaties of Cape Verde Treaties of Chile Treaties of the People's Republic of China Treaties of Colombia Treaties of the Comoros Treaties of the Republic of the Congo Treaties of Ivory Coast Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Cuba Treaties of Denmark Treaties of Djibouti Treaties of Dominica Treaties of Ecuador Treaties of Egypt Treaties of El Salvador Treaties of Estonia Treaties of Finland Treaties of France Treaties of Gabon Treaties of Georgia (country) Treaties of Germany Treaties of Ghana Treaties of Greece Treaties of Guinea Treaties of Guyana Treaties of Honduras Treaties of Iceland Treaties of India Treaties of Iran Treaties of Ireland Treaties of Israel Treaties of Italy Treaties of Jamaica Treaties of Japan Treaties of Jordan Treaties of Kenya Treaties of Latvia Treaties of Lebanon Treaties of Liberia Treaties of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Treaties of Lithuania Treaties of Madagascar Treaties of Malaysia Treaties of Malta Treaties of the Marshall Islands Treaties of Mauritania Treaties of Mauritius Treaties of Mexico Treaties of Monaco Treaties of Morocco Treaties of Mozambique Treaties of Myanmar Treaties of Namibia Treaties of the Netherlands Treaties of New Zealand Treaties of Nigeria Treaties of Norway Treaties of Oman Treaties of Pakistan Treaties of Palau Treaties of Peru Treaties of the Philippines Treaties of Poland Treaties of Portugal Treaties of Qatar Treaties of South Korea Treaties of Romania Treaties of Russia Treaties of Saint Kitts and Nevis Treaties of Saint Lucia Treaties of Samoa Treaties of Saudi Arabia Treaties of Senegal Treaties of Seychelles Treaties of Sierra Leone Treaties of Singapore Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of South Africa Treaties of Spain Treaties of Sudan Treaties of Sweden Treaties of Switzerland Treaties of Syria Treaties of Thailand Treaties of Togo Treaties of Tonga Treaties of Trinidad and Tobago Treaties of Tunisia Treaties of Turkey Treaties of the United Kingdom Treaties of Tanzania Treaties of the United States Treaties of Uruguay Treaties of Vanuatu Treaties of Venezuela Treaties of Yemen 1990 in London 1995 in the environment Treaties extended to the Isle of Man Treaties extended to Aruba Treaties extended to the Netherlands Antilles Treaties extended to Greenland Treaties extended to Hong Kong Treaties extended to Macau