The 1992 Fund Convention

The 1992 Fund Convention, which is supplementary to the 1992 CLC, establishes a regime for compensating victims when compensation under the 1992 CLC is not available or is inadequate. The International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund, 1992 (1992 Fund) was set up under the 1992 Fund Convention.

The 1992 Fund pays compensation when:

• the damage exceeds the limit of the shipowner’s liability under the 1992 CLC, or
• the shipowner is exempt from liability under the 1992 CLC, or
• the shipowner is financially incapable of meeting their obligations in full under the 1992 CLC and the insurance is insufficient to pay valid compensation claims.

The maximum compensation payable by the 1992 Fund is 203 million SDR for incidents occurring on or after 1 November 2003, irrespective of the size of the ship. For incidents occurring before that date, the maximum amount payable is 135 million SDR. These maximum amounts include the sums actually paid by the shipowner under the 1992 CLC.

The 1992 Fund is financed by contributions levied on any person who has received in one calendar year more than 150 000 tonnes of crude oil and/or heavy fuel oil (contributing oil) in a Member State of the 1992 Fund.

The Supplementary Fund Protocol

The Supplementary Fund Protocol, which was adopted in 2003, entered into force in 2005, thereby establishing the International Oil Pollution Compensation Supplementary Fund, 2003 (Supplementary Fund). The Supplementary Fund provides additional compensation beyond the amount available under the 1992 Fund Convention in 1992 Fund Member States which are also Parties to the Protocol. The total amount available for compensation for each incident is 750 million SDR, including the amounts payable under the 1992 Conventions.

Annual contributions to the Supplementary Fund are made on the same basis as contributions to the 1992 Fund. However, the contribution system for the Supplementary Fund differs from that of the 1992 Fund in that, for the purpose of paying contributions, at least 1 million tonnes of contributing oil are deemed to have been received each year in each Member State.