FLAGS OF CONVENIENCE AND THE INTERNATIONAL LIABILITY AND COMPENSATION LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR OIL POLLUTION FROM TANKERS

Abstract

The international civil liability and compensation legal framework for oil pollution damage from tankers is composed of four distinct conventions that have adopted the principle of channeling strict liability in the person of the ship’s owner and the rule of territorial jurisdiction based on the place of damage. The regime is also supported by two Funds (IOPC Funds) that aim to guarantee compensation for victims. In parallel, flags of convenience, an undeniable reality in the current maritime trade, gained great visibility after being evolved in several of the largest maritime disasters occurred in the last 50 years. Through inductive, historical and empirical-quantitative methods, this thesis aims to define and conceptualize “flags of convenience”; analyse the data related to the marine transport of oil by tankers in order to determine if flags of convenience actually cause higher levels of pollution when compared to other flags, and in which proportion. Based on that this work proposes to point out perspectives and impressions to enable the assessment of the liability and compensation conventions, along with the IOPC Funds, in term of combating maritime pollution by oil tankers. The research found that, although flags of convenience have followed the positive trend, their complacent practice still poses a great socio-economic and environmental threat, since it enhances risks in an activity is already of high risk, especially considering the severity of the accidents that theses flags, in particular, have been involved.