35 years since the establishment of the first IOPC Fund

The 1971 Fund Convention entered into force 35 years ago, on 16 October 1978, establishing the first International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (the 1971 Fund). The Fund had 14 Member States at that time and has evolved and grown today into what is now known as the IOPC Funds, covering 113 States across the world.
The 1971 and 1992 Funds have unfortunately had to deal with nearly 150 oil pollution incidents over those 35 years, but thanks to the existence of the IOPC Funds and the international compensation regime, compensation totalling £569.1 million has been paid to victims of oil pollution damage.
The agenda for the meetings of the IOPC Funds’ governing bodies, set to take place during the week of 21 October 2013, demonstrates the amount of work still being carried out by the IOPC Funds to ensure that the Organisations continue to fulfil their mission to pay prompt compensation to victims and that the practices of the Organisations are regularly reviewed and revised in line with developments in the international maritime community.
Whilst the work relating to the winding up of the original 1971 Fund will be high on next week’s agenda, the focus will remain on the ongoing incidents, as well as on the preparation for the challenges which any new incident may bring.