External Relations

The Secretariat undertakes a wide variety of activities aimed at strengthening the IOPC Funds’ relationship with Member States, encouraging the worldwide adoption and understanding of the international regime for oil pollution compensation and assisting potential claimants.

It offers a variety of training activities. These include a number of regular events, such as a week-long annual academy (see below) and a half-day induction course for Member State representatives, which is held immediately prior to the October/November sessions of the governing bodies. The Director hosts informal regional lunch meetings for London-based representatives of Member and non-Member States during the course of the year and the Secretariat also organises or contributes to national and regional workshops upon request for both Member and non-Member States directly.  It also offers short, targeted online training sessions for those State representatives working on specific areas of work relating to the IOPC Funds, such as oil reporting and contributions.

The IOPC Funds has recently developed a webinar series which is intended to cover all aspects of compensation for oil pollution in 15‐minute presentations, followed by 15 minutes of questions. The Webinar Series is open to any interested party and each of the 11 webinars in the series will be delivered at two different times to facilitate participation from various time zones. Two sessions have already taken place. These focused on introducing the international liability and compensation regime and understanding the relevant Conventions.  The next module in the series looks at financing the system, with the next session focussing specifically on why oil reports are essential. That webinar will take place on 17 January 2024. For further details and to register for event please see here.

The Secretariat regularly contributes to events organised by fellow organisations and stakeholders to create awareness and promote better understanding of the role of the IOPC Funds. It gives presentations at conferences and regularly gives lectures to students of maritime law from various universities.

Details of the key events attended by the Secretariat are set out on the map below and under the News and Events section. Future activities are detailed under the Upcoming Events page.

For further information on any of the activities described above or to discuss any training or support requirements please email: externalrelations@iopcfunds.org.

IOPC Funds Annual Academy

The IOPC Funds organises an Annual Academy which usually takes place at the Funds headquarters in London.  The week-long programme covers all aspects of the work of the IOPC Funds and the international liability and compensation regime. The 2023 IOPC Funds Annual Academy took place  from Monday, 12 to Friday, 16 June at the Funds’ headquarters in London. The dates for the 2024 event and the deadline for nomination by governments will be announced in early 2024.