Conferences and Seminars

This section provides information on conferences, seminars and workshops attended by the IOPC Funds staff.

Interspill 2012

13-15 March 2012

The IOPC Funds' Secretariat is a member of the steering committee which is organising Interspill 2012, the European oil spill conference and exhibition, which will take place from 13-15 March 2012 in London. The Director, the Technical Advisor and the Head of External Relations and Conference will be presenting or chairing sessions at the conference, the Secretariat will have a stand at the exhibition and will also be running, together with ITOPF, a claims and compensation short course on Monday 12 March. The detailed programme for the event is expected to be announced shortly. Further information can be found at www.interspill.com.

Norwegian Coastal Administration Workshop, Asgardstrand, Norway

22-23 November 2011

The IOPC Funds participated in a workshop organised by the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) in Asgardstrand, Norway, from 22-23 November 2011.  Presentations were given by the NCA regarding the reimbursement requirements following the Full City incident in Norwegian waters, and discussions took place led by maritime lawyers Wikborg Rein and Gard P&I Club, regarding limitation of liability and the insurer’s perspective respectively. Mark Homan, Claims Manager from the IOPC Funds gave an overview of the compensation regime before discussing the admissibility criteria and claims requirements, for claims covered by the IOPC Funds. The Spanish Maritime Safety and Rescue Agency (SASEMAR) also gave a presentation, which was followed by a table top exercise with the audience, conducted by Mr Homan and the Funds’ Technical Adviser, Matthew Somerville, to carry out a theoretical clean-up operation, and then present the claims for assessment and discussion.

Director visits Beijing, People’s Republic of China

15-16 November 2011

On 15-16 November 2011 the Director met with representatives from the Ministry of Transport in Beijing, including the Vice-Minister and the Deputy Director General for the Department of International Cooperation. The main topics of discussion were the possible extension of the application of the 1992 Fund Convention beyond the Hong Kong Exclusive Economic Zone to mainland China; and the recourse action which had been taken and the subsequent mediation in respect of the Hebei Spirit incident which was currently before China’s Supreme Court. The Director also attended the annual board meeting of the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd (ITOPF) and participated in a seminar on the development of new Chinese legislation in respect of shipping and the environment.

Director attends COCATRAM regional workshop in Costa Rica

1-4 November 2011

The Director attended meetings organised by COCATRAM (La Comisión Centroamericana de Transporte Marítimo) for the relevant authorities of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. The Director ran a workshop on the benefits of joining the 1992 Fund since only Panama is a 1992 Fund Member State, with Guatemala having ratified the 1992 Civil Liability Convention but the four other States having only ratified the 1969 Civil Liability Convention. The Director was delighted with the interest shown by the representatives of all the relevant authorities present and, with the assistance of COCATRAM, it was agreed that the IOPC Funds and the authorities would work together towards ratification of the 1992 Fund Convention in the future. Further positive dialogue has taken place with COCATRAM and the States concerned since the Director’s visit and discussions on the matter are ongoing.

Acting Director visits Tokyo, Japan

6 October 2011

The Acting Director visited Tokyo Japan on 6 October 2011 where he attended meetings with representatives from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Japan P&I Club and the Japan Maritime Centre, where he gave a presentation on the recent developments in the international compensation regime. The Acting Director referred in particular to the recent discussions which had taken place at the meetings of the 6th intersessional Working Group, which is considering ways to improve the handling of large numbers of claims for small amounts, and also the discussions within the 1992 Fund Assembly regarding the definition of ‘ship’ within the 1992 Conventions.

Sub-regional seminar, Vietnam

3-4 October 2011

Thomas Liebert, Head, External Relations and Conference Department was invited by PEMSEA to help organise and deliver a sub-regional seminar on claims and compensation for the Gulf of Thailand (Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from 3-4 October 2011.

The Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), is a partnership arrangement involving various stakeholders of the Seas of East Asia, including national and local governments, civil society, the private sector, research and education institutions, communities, international agencies, regional programmes, financial institutions and donors with various objectives including reducing in-country and regional disparities in capacities for sustainable coastal and ocean development and management.

The seminar was hosted by the National Southern Oil Spill Response Center (NASOS), operating under the responsibility of the Vietnam National Committee for Search and Rescue (VINASARCOM), with 40 participants in attendance, including three delegates from Cambodia, six from Thailand and two invited guests from Philippines. The seminar was opened by the Vice-Chairman of VINASARCOM and a PEMSEA representative, with each country presenting on their own issues regarding claims and compensation for marine oil spills. Mr Liebert, together with Dr Mark Whittington from ITOPF delivered all other presentations, focusing on the implementation of the 1992 Conventions into national law and States’ obligations, as well as providing an overview of the claims handling process. The seminar led to interesting debate among the participants, particularly due to the fact that all were in a different situation with regards to the compensation regime, with Cambodia and Philippines being Parties to the 1992 Civil Liability and Fund Conventions, Vietnam being Party to the 1992 CLC and Thailand not being Party to either Convention as yet. It was also attended by representatives from Oil Spill Response Ltd (Singapore) as PEMSEA’s technical partner.

Oil Spill India 2011 Conference

29 September-1 October 2011

Thomas Liebert, Head, External Relations and Conference Department and Latha Srinivasan, Finance Manager, took part in Oil Spill India 2011, the first international oil spill conference organised in India that took place in Goa from 29 September to 1 October 2011. The conference attracted 225 delegates from 18 countries and 25 exhibitors under the theme “Global collaboration for cleaner seas”. Mr Liebert made a presentation at the opening plenary session, focusing on the rising risks of oil spills in India resulting from the rapid increase in national production and overseas imports and the subsequent need for an improved level of preparedness involving government and industry. Mr Liebert also provided an overview of the compensation regime as currently applicable in India which showed the correlation between India oil developments and its new position as second largest contributor to the 1992 Fund. This conference was also an opportunity for the Organisation to establish a number of new contacts with relevant government agencies, oil companies and local experts.

This participation in Oil Spill India 2011 offered an opportunity to organise, under the auspices of the Directorate General of Shipping, a meeting with all 1992 Fund contributors in India, which took place on 28 September at the DG Shipping office in Mumbai. During that very interactive session, several matters were covered, in particular the significance of oil reporting requirements and subsequent contributions, suggestions on ways to improve reporting as well as a review of the current legislation in India and the way forward. All companies contributing to the 1992 Fund, the DG Shipping, the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian National Shipowners’ Association were represented.

University of Southampton, Maritime Law Short Course, Southampton, UK

31 August 2011

On 31 August 2011, the Legal Counsel, Ms Akiko Yoshida gave a lecture to some 50 students from the Maritime Law Short Course at the University of Southampton. Ms Yoshida presented an overview of the international regime and the role of the IOPC Funds and discussed recent developments of the incidents involving the international regime.

IOSC, Portland, Oregon, USA

24 to 26 May 2011

The IOPC Funds' Technical Adviser, Matthew Sommerville, and Claims Manager, Mark Homan, attended the International Oil Spill Conference (IOSC) in Portland, Oregon, USA from 24 to 26 May 2011.

Since 1969 the IOSC has provided a forum for an exchange of ideas and an overview of lessons learned from actual spill responses and of research carried out around the world. This conference is part of the Triennial Oil Spill Conference Cycle, established in 2005, which includes IOSC, Interspill and Spillcon.  The triennial program permits industry, government, and academic stakeholders to focus on one major international technical conference per year. This, in turn, ensures maximum participation of subject matter experts from around the world and guarantees that the most recent case studies and lessons learned are addressed. The theme of this year’s conference was 'Promoting the Science of Spill Response'.

In addition to attending the presentations and visiting exhibition stands of various equipment manufacturers and service companies, the IOPC Funds' staff held discussions and renewed contacts with counterparts from the USA National Pollution Funds Centre and the Canadian Ship Source Oil Pollution Fund as well as other organisations, experts and research organisations. They discussed the work of the Organisation with other interested parties and made useful contacts for future reference.

Training workshop organised by EMSA, Lisbon, Portugal

18 and 19 May 2011

Mr Jose Maura, the Acting Director and Mr Thomas Liebert, Head of the External Relations and Conference Department took part in a training workshop on liability and compensation for maritime claims, organised by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) on 18 and 19 May 2011 in Lisbon, Portugal. The workshop was attended by representatives of 17 European Union Member States as well as Iceland and Norway. The topics covered included an overview of recent international instruments dealing with maritime claims such as the Athens Convention and a recent European directive on shipowner insurance.

Mr Maura gave two presentations on the oil pollution compensation regime and the Funds experience in handling claims, while Mr Liebert gave a presentation on the recent developments in the compensation regime for damage from hazardous and noxious substances (HNS), following the adoption of the 2010 HNS Protocol. On the second day, Messrs Maura and Liebert ran a table top exercise simulating a combined oil and HNS incident followed by the submission of claims for clean-up costs.

All delegates were given the opportunity to visit EMSA’s Maritime Support Services (MSS) which manages all the Agency’s operational tools, including the round-the-clock monitoring and administration of SafeSeaNet, a vessel traffic monitoring and information system, and CleanSeaNet, the European Union Long Range Identification and Tracking Data Centre.

Mr Maura and Mr Liebert also took the opportunity to meet with EMSA officers to discuss matters related to the EU claims guidelines and rates of equipments used in response operations.

Lecture for students from the International Maritime Law Institute

9 May 2011

The Legal Counsel, Ms Akiko Yoshida, gave an in-house lecture on 9 May 2011 to 32 students from the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) in Malta.

Ms. Yoshida presented an overview of the international regime and discussed the operation of the IOPC Funds and the recent developments of incidents involving the IOPC Funds. The lecture also included an overview of the 1996 HNS Convention and the recent adoption of the 2010 HNS Protocol.

International Chemical and Oil Pollution Conference and Exhibition, Singapore

11 to 13 April 2011

The Acting Director, Mr José Maura, attended the International Chemical and Oil Pollution Conference and Exhibition (ICOPCE) in Singapore from 11 to 13 April 2011. Organised by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore, ICOPCE is a biennial international event which focuses on the environmental challenges facing the shipping and oil communities, and relevant stakeholders.

Mr Maura represented the IOPC Funds and gave a presentation on the work of the Organisations. In addition to the conference, one of the highlights of the week was an exercise organised by the MPA (Chemspill 2011) which involved ten vessels, 13 organisations and 120 personnel and simulated a combined government, industry and commercial salvage and spill response to a spill of 500 tonnes of benzene.

Chemspill 2011 exercise in Singapore

Atlantic Regions' Coastal Pollution Response (ARCOPOL) Seminar
Cardiff, UK

6-7 April 2011

Mr Matthew Sommerville, the Technical Advisor and Ms Ana Cuesta, Claims Administrator, attended a two-day Atlantic Regions' Coastal Pollution Response (ARCOPOL) seminar held on 6-7 April 2011 in Cardiff, UK. A broad range of presentations on the ARCOPOL project and members' activities were delivered; ranging from high-level activity undertaken at IMO on shipping and the prevention and preparedness for oil and Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) spills, to case studies, risk assessment and modeling tools, human health, surveys and claims and compensation issues.

Delegates from the UK, Spain, France and Ireland were in attendance from a range of intergovernmental organisations, national, regional and local government and other interested parties including those involved in human and community health issues.

While the issue of oil spills was discussed, the focus was on HNS and the sharing of knowledge, research and plans between the delegations.

The discussion on HNS issues was of interest to the IOPC Funds as part of preparations for the entry into force of the 2010 HNS Protocol and in particular, to gain information on the preparations and areas of concern at local and national government level. These issues included the implementation of the existing Protocol on Preparedness, Response and Co-operation to Pollution Incidents by Hazardous and Noxious Substances, 2000 (OPRC-HNS Protocol), as well as issues relating to compensation and claims.

In-house lecture for Students from the Erasmus School of Law

6 April 2011

On 6 April 2011, 30 students participating in a study trip from the Erasmus School of Law (Rotterdam) visited the Secretariat and attended an in-house lecture given by the Legal Counsel Ms. Akiko Yoshida. The lecture included a presentation on the international regime for liability and compensation for oil pollution damage and the role of the IOPC Funds.

International Oil Pollution Compensation Regime Seminar Workshop, Jakarta

23-24 February 2011

Mrs Akiko Yoshida, the Legal Counsel, and Mr Thomas Liebert, Head of External Relations and Conference Department, delivered a two-day Oil Pollution Compensation Regime Seminar on 23-24 February 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia, organized by the Directorate General for Sea Transportation and with the participation of Mr Franck Laruelle, Technical Team Manager from the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) .

This seminar is the result of an initiative from the Indonesian Government, which is not a member State of the 1992 Fund, and the aim was to provide officials from Government agencies and the oil/shipping industry in Indonesia with a comprehensive review of the international compensation regime as part of the government’s ongoing review of its level of oil spill preparedness and response capability. It included presentations from government officials on the national legislation applicable to oil pollution incidents as well as relevant case studies from recent years.

The legal and organisational framework of the regime as well as the contribution and claims handling processes were covered in detail, case studies involving the Funds and local incidents were also used for reference.

The seminar was attended by approximately 40 people, including senior officials from the Ministries of Transportation and Foreign Affairs as well as representatives from the private sector. The proceedings of this seminar will be used as an input by the Indonesian government to evaluate whether or not Indonesia should ratify the 1992 Fund Convention.

Oil Pollution Claims and Compensation Workshop, Brisbane, Australia

9-11 February 2011

Mr José Maura, the Acting Director, Mr Thomas Liebert, Head of External Relations and Conference Department, and Ms Chiara Della Mea, Claims Manager, delivered an Oil Pollution Claims and Compensation Workshop, which was held from 9 –11 February 2011 in Brisbane, Australia.  The workshop was organised in cooperation with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and opened by Mr Toby Stone, General Manager of AMSA’s Marine Environment Division and Mr John Gillies, Principal Adviser at AMSA. 

The aim of the three day workshop was to provide officials of AMSA, representatives of the Governments of states and territories of Australia, the Coast Guard and P&I Club correspondents with a comprehensive review of the legal and organisational framework and claims handling process under the international compensation regime of the IOPC Funds.  Ms Colleen O'Hagan, Technical Adviser from the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) also took part in the workshop and focused particularly on response options and pollution damage issues.

The workshop was well attended, including a delegation from Maritime New Zealand and a number of presentations from the participants shed some light on the handling of claims for recent oil pollution incidents on the Australian coast, leading to a lively discussion and a successful workshop.

	Oil Pollution Claims and Compensation Workshop organised in cooperation with AMSA
	A view of Brisbane, February 2011

Conferences and Seminars Archive