The Bunker Convention : International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollition Damage

The objective of the thesis is to examine the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage – the Bunker Convention – that implements a liability and compensation regime for pollution damage caused by spills of oil carried as fuel in the ship’s bunkers. The Bunker Convention will enter into force on 21 November 2008, more than six years after its adoption by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 23 March 2001. Firstly, the thesis will provide an overview of the international situation in place before the entry into force of the Bunker Convention: the liability and compensation systems addressing ship-source marine pollution and the national regimes specifically addressing bunker oil pollution. Following, the key characteristics of the Bunker Convention will be discussed and its practical consequences critically analysed. Further, the thesis will discuss whether the States Parties can, in the implementation legislation, provide for additional measures other than those set out in the Convention itself. The final outcome of the thesis is that it is better to have a rather incomplete system regulating liability and compensation for bunker oil spills based on strict liability coupled with compulsory insurance and direct action than not counting on any at all