Page 112 - claims information pack ebook_e

Guidelines for presenting claims for clean up and preventive measures

2.4 A contractor instructed to respond to a basis. However, only costs for measures
spill for example, by a port, local or national considered reasonable can be successfully
authority, ideally should have a contract reclaimed and in particular, measures with
with that authority. The authority would then no material benefit to the response and
make a claim for reimbursement of the costs undertaken purely for public relations purposes
incurred in settling the contractor’s invoice. would not be eligible for compensation.
However, sometimes no contract exists 2.6 Likewise the cargo owner may have access
between the specialist oil spill response to oil spill response equipment which it
contractor and the authority ordering the would like to make available to the response
deployment of equipment, personnel and effort. These costs can be claimed from the
materials and there is the expectation shipowner’s insurer and the 1992 Fund but
that the shipowner and his insurer and if again, compensation would not be available for
necessary, the 1992 Fund will pay the bill. In expenditure incurred purely for public relations 7
such circumstances when no contract exists, purposes.
it may be possible for a contractor to make a
claim directly against the shipowner’s insurer 2.7 In cases where independent organisations or
and the 1992 Fund. However, the 1992 Fund companies offer assistance to the response
is only able to meet reasonable expenses. effort it is essential that these operations are
Contractors responding outside an agreed conducted in collaboration with the authorities
contract should be aware that it is possible in charge. It is most important that operations
that invoiced costs may therefore not be fully are coordinated as compensation may not be
reimbursed (see example in section 4). available for operations that are duplicated.

2.5 As noted above some administrations expect 2.8 For a claim to be admissible, the person who is
the tanker owner to provide the resources to making the claim (the claimant) must be able
clean up the spill and even those that do not to show that he or she, or the organisation they
may welcome the involvement of the owner. represent, has suffered a financial loss. In the
For example, some shipowners belong to case of preventive measures this means having
industry cooperatives giving them access to incurred costs directly linked to the prevention
oil spill response equipment on a preferential or removal of contamination caused by the spill.