European Maritime Law Course organised by EMSA

As part of the online European Maritime Law Course developed within the framework of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) Academy, the IOPC Funds delivered two online presentations on 11 and 12 October 2022.

The EMSA Academy law-course runs annually from May to October and is divided into two main sections: “safety and security” and “sustainability”.  It is aimed at assisting European institutions in understanding the scope and objective of the European maritime legislation in place, subject to implementation or application in the national systems of each State.

In the first IOPC Funds’ presentation Claims Manager, Mark Homan, presented the legal aspects of the international Conventions relating to compensation for oil pollution damage. Session two covered the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS Convention), and the importance for States to accede to that Convention.

A practical demonstration was given of the HNS Finder, a tool designed to assist States and contributing receivers to search for and identify all HNS as defined by the 2010 HNS Convention and which provides information on HNS classification criteria and verifies whether a substance qualifies as contributing cargo.  Participants were also tasked with identifying which compensation and liability conventions applied to a given scenario and what factors needed to be considered in responding to an HNS incident.

The IOPC Funds continue to assist countries with their progress towards accession to and implementation of the HNS Convention, which has not yet entered into force, by providing workshops and webinars upon request.