Since I took up office, I have been very conscious of the vulnerability of the Irish coastline to the threat of oil pollution particularly from oil tankers. Ireland is in an especially vulnerable position due to its proximity to major sea routes, the length of our coastline and the severity of the weather which can affect the seas around the country. I am most anxious, therefore, to take whatever steps are necessary to reduce the threat of major oil spills and to minimise the impact of any incidents which might occur in the future. The absence of a legislative regime covering liability and compensation for oil pollution damage from oil tankers was one major gap which needed to be filled. Accordingly I took the necessary steps to have a Bill covering this area introduced in the Oireachtas at the earliest opportunity.
The main aims of this Bill are first, to ensure that oil tankers entering or leaving Irish ports have adequate insurance to cover their liability for oil pollution damage; secondly, to provide supplemental cover where oil tanker owners' liability is exceeded and, thirdly, to establish a legal framework for recovery of costs connected with oil pollution incidents. The Bill and consequential regulations will enable Ireland to ratify the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1969, and its 1976 protocol and also the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1971, and its 1976 protocol. These conventions are generally referred to as the Civil Liability Convention and the Fund Convention. For the information of Senators I have placed a copy of a booklet which includes both conventions in the Library of the House.
The Civil Liability Convention obliges owners of ships carrying oil in bulk as cargo to have appropriate insurance to cover liability to a specified limit for oil pollution damage. The liability limit is £116 approximately per ton up to a maximum of £12 million approximately whichever is the lesser. The equivalents of these figures are set out in section 10.
The Fund Convention provides for the establishment of a fund financed by oil companies for payment of compensation for oil pollution where shipowners' liability is exceeded up to a current overall maximum of £46 million approximately. This limit will be increased to approximately £52 million from 1 December 1987 and it is the equivalent of this figure which is referred to in section 21.
The units of account referred to in sections 10 and 21 are special drawing rights of the International Monetary Fund. The actual equivalent in Irish pounds will depend on the exchange applying on a particular day. The unit of account for both conventions was originally gold francs and this was changed to special drawing rights of the IMF in the 1976 protocols to both conventions.
At present Ireland is reliant on voluntary international schemes for compensation in the event of oil pollution damage from ships carrying oil in bulk as cargo. These agreements are the Tanker Owners Voluntary Agreement on Liability for Oil Pollution, TOVALOP, and a Contract Regarding a Supplement to Tanker Liability for Oil Pollution, CRISTAL. TOVALOP and CRISTAL were intended to be interim solutions and to remain in operation only until the Civil Liability and Fund Conventions had worldwide application. While the scope of TOVALOP and CRISTAL is similar to that of the international conventions, it is not possible to incorporate their provisions into national law.
As regards the liability of oil tanker owners, sections 7 and 8 outline the situations where oil tanker owners can limit their liability and where they can be exempt from liability.
In the event of damage from oil pollution, owners of laden oil tankers will have strict liability for such damage except in a few particular cases, namely, when the damage results from an act of war or a grave natural disaster, or the damage is wholly caused by sabotage by a third party, or the damage is wholly caused by the failure of authorities to maintain navigational aids. If the oil pollution damage is proved to have been due to the personal fault of the tanker owner, he will not be able to limit his liability.
The liability of the Fund Convention is covered in sections 20 and 21. The Fund Convention becomes liable if claimants are unable to obtain full compensation under the Civil Liability Convention for one of the following reasons: no liability arises under the Civil Liability Convention; the owner is financially incapable of meeting his obligations under the Civil Liability Convention and his insurance is inadequate; the damage exceeds the owner's liability under the Civil Liability Convention.
However, the Fund Convention does not have to pay compensation if the pollution damage resulted from an act of war, or if it cannot be proved that the damage resulted from an incident involving one or more ships, or was due to the wilful misconduct or personal fault of the owner.
In relation to those claiming compensation under this legislation, I have included a provision in section 12 whereby, after a court has decided that a shipowner is liable for oil pollution damage, the court may order the payment in court of the amount of the owner's liability. I feel that this provision will be a useful safeguard to claimants. Furthermore, under section 13 where a ship has incurred a liability for oil pollution damage, any other ship in the State which has the same owner may be detained.
Section 16 outlines the provisions in relation to the insurance of Irish registered ships carrying 2,000 tonnes or more of oil in bulk as cargo and all other ships carrying these quantities of oil to or from Irish ports. All these must carry insurance certificates showing that the vessels have appropriate insurance cover. Inspectors appointed by the Minister for the Marine, surveyors of the Department of the Marine, sea fisheries protection officers and harbour masters may carry out inspections of ships to ensure that the required insurance certificate is carried on board. If a ship does not have the required insurance certificate, it may be detained.
The fund of the Fund Convention is financed by persons in the contracting States to this convention who receive crude oil and heavy fuel in these States after sea transport. Section 19 provides for receivers of these types of oil in Ireland to make the appropriate subscriptions to the fund.
The penalties in section 38 are divided into two categories. The greater penalties of a fine up to £1 million and — or imprisonment of up to give years in the first subsection are for offences such as a ship ignoring a detention order, a ship not having the required insurance cover and an oil receiver failing to make the required payment to the fund. The lower penalties in the second subsection are for persons who impede inspectors and harbour masters in the carrying out of their inspection functions.
I believe this Bill will greatly improve the position in relation to liability and compensation from oil pollution damage caused by oil tankers and I am hopeful that it will have a speedy passage through both houses.
I commend the Bill to the House.