Claims and compensation workshop, Manila, the Philippines

The IOPC Funds were invited by the Philippine Coast Guard to run a workshop on the international liability and compensation regime from 9–11 January 2018, in Manila, the Philippines.
The Director, José Maura, and Claims Manager, Mark Homan, presented on various aspects of the legal framework of the international regime applicable to tanker spills. They also delivered a series of presentations on the admissibility of claims arising from pollution damage and, in particular, claims for pure economic losses, environmental damage, wreck removal and clean-up operations.
The presentations generated interesting discussions among the audience members of lawyers and representatives of the Philippine Coast Guard and other government authorities.
The participants also worked through a tabletop exercise based on an incident scenario. The exercise provided an opportunity to work in groups, putting theoretical knowledge into practice and discussing the best course of action to respond to the initial phase of a spill. To help participants understand the claims procedure and the criteria for the admissibility of claims for compensation, participants prepared claims for clean-up operations which were discussed and presented to other groups.