CMI Colloquium 2025: the future of the IOPC and HNS Funds

At the invitation of the Comité Maritime International (CMI), Gaute Sivertsen, Director, and Gillian Grant, HNS Project Manager, were pleased to participate in a panel on the Future of the IOPC and HNS Funds at the CMI Colloquium 2025, held in Tokyo on 13-17 May 2025. The conference is a comprehensive forum addressing the harmonisation of maritime law, and the legal aspects of technological advancements in shipping, and pressing issues such as decarbonisation and maritime safety. During the event, Mr Sivertsen provided an overview of the IOPC Funds’ critical role in offering compensation for oil pollution damage resulting from spills of persistent oil from tankers. He explained that the Funds operate as an intergovernmental organisation funded by the oil industry and managed by Member States, which ensures an effective system of shared responsibility between shipowners and oil cargo receivers.

Mr Sivertsen highlighted some of the current issues being dealt with by the IOPC Funds alongside its primary function of paying compensation.  These included the possible impact of sanctions on the international liability and compensation regime, challenges with treaty-compliant insurance, and ensuring timely payment of contributions by Member States. He underlined that the failure to implement the Conventions properly can impact the compensation available to victims and compromise the integrity of the compensation regime.

The Director referred to the importance of the 2010 HNS Convention, describing it as the final piece in the global ship-source pollution compensation framework. He reaffirmed the IOPC Funds’ commitment to supporting States in ratifying and implementing the Convention and ensuring that the systems necessary for the operation of the HNS Fund are in place.

During the same panel session, Ms. Grant delivered a presentation entitled ‘2010 HNS Fund: Ready for Operation?’, where she shared the latest developments regarding the progress towards the entry into force of the 2010 HNS Convention. Despite strong backing from both governments and industry, the Convention, which establishes a comprehensive global compensation regime for damage caused by hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) transported by sea, has not yet fulfilled the conditions necessary for its entry into force.

The presentation   focused on the second tier of compensation and the steps that the IOPC Funds Secretariat is taking to support the implementation of the Convention’s reporting requirements to ensure that the HNS Fund will be successful from the outset. Participants were informed that eight States have already ratified the Convention, while additional ratifications by Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden are anticipated by 2026. Once the required conditions are fulfilled, the Convention will enter into force 18 months later. Ms. Grant also emphasised the IOPC Funds Secretariat’s ongoing support for States through tools, guidelines, and preparations for the first HNS Fund Assembly.

The presentations and the question and answer session that followed generated engaging discussions among delegates, which emphasised the critical importance of appropriately implementing the Conventions to ensure a fair sharing of the financial burdens of providing compensation between ship and cargo owners.

The IOPC Funds were delighted to participate in the panel along with representatives from the International Chamber of Shipping, International Group of P&I Clubs and the Petroleum Industry Marine Association of Japan. The Director and Ms. Grant congratulate the CMI and the Japanese organising committee for an excellent  conference that allowed for this important exchange of views on the future of the IOPC and HNS Funds.