Transport Minister of Canada visits IOPC Funds

On 13 October 2025, the Minister of Transport of Canada, Mr Steven MacKinnon, together with Deputy Minister Mr Arun Thangaraj and Canada’s Alternate Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Ms Nancy Roberts, paid a courtesy visit to the Director of the IOPC Funds, Gaute Sivertsen. They were accompanied by a number of senior Canadian officials.

During the visit, Mr Sivertsen provided an overview of the IOPC Funds’ role and structure and the legal framework underpinning the international liability and compensation regime for oil pollution damage. He outlined the types of claims covered under the 1992 Civil Liability and Fund Conventions and explained the criteria applied by the IOPC Funds when assessing their admissibility.

The Director expressed his appreciation for Canada’s long-standing support and active engagement in the work of the IOPC Funds. Canada currently holds the Chair of the 1992 Fund Assembly, represented by Mr François Marier, and is also represented on the IOPC Funds’ Audit Body by Mr Alfred Popp K.C., who was re-elected for a second term in November 2023.

The IOPC Funds signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ship and Rail Compensation Canada in 2023, further strengthening a partnership that spans more than three decades. Under this MoU, claims for oil pollution damage in Canada can be submitted directly to Ship and Rail Compensation Canada, which pays compensation and subsequently recovers the costs from the shipowner’s insurer and the IOPC Funds.

Canada, a Member State of both the 1992 Fund and the Supplementary Fund, has also been a strong advocate for the 2010 HNS Convention, to which it is a Contracting State.