Page 30 - claims information pack ebook_e

1992 Fund Claims Manual October 2016 Edition

3.1.7 The costs incurred, and the relationship ● The quantity, type and characteristics
between those costs and the benefits of the oil remaining on board the ship;
derived or expected, should be reasonable. ● The stability of the seabed at the
For example, a high degree of cleaning, location of the ship.
beyond removal of bulk oil, of exposed rocky
shores inaccessible to the public is rarely B. Factors relating to the likelihood,
justified, since natural cleaning by wave nature and extent of the possible
action is likely to be more effective. On the damage, such as:
other hand, thorough cleaning is usually ● The likely pollution damage which would
necessary in the case of a public amenity have resulted from the release of the
beach, particularly immediately prior to remaining oil from the ship, especially in
or during the holiday season. Account is relation to the cost of the removal operation;
taken of the particular circumstances
of an incident. ● The extent to which areas which were most
likely to be affected by a release of the
3.1.8 Claims for the cost of measures to remove remaining oil from the ship were vulnerable
28 any remaining persistent oil from a sunken to oil pollution damage, either from an
ship are also subject to the overall criterion economic or an environmental point of view;
of reasonableness from an objective point of
view, which applies equally to all preventive ● The likely environmental damage which
measures. In order for the costs of such would have resulted from the release of
measures to be admissible, the measures the remaining oil from the ship.
should therefore have been reasonable C. Factors relating to the feasibility of the
from an objective point of view at the time operation, such as:
they were taken, as set out in the previous
paragraphs, and the relationship between ● The technical feasibility and likelihood of
the costs and the benefits derived or success of the operation, for example taking
reasonably to be expected at the time the into account visibility, currents, the presence
measures were taken should be reasonable of other wrecks in the vicinity and whether
as well. If it is possible to measure, with the ship was at a depth at which operations
a degree of accuracy, at reasonable cost of the kind envisaged were likely to be
and with minimal risk of causing further carried out successfully;
pollution, the quantity of oil remaining on ● The likelihood of a release of a significant
board a sunken ship, this should normally quantity of oil from the ship during the
be the first step before deciding whether removal operation.
or not to remove the oil.
D. The cost of the operations, especially in
3.1.9 Whether measures to remove any remaining relation to the likely pollution damage which
oil from a sunken ship were reasonable is would have resulted from the release of the
determined on a case by case basis, taking remaining oil from the ship.
into account the following factors,
as appropriate: 3.1.10 Costs of reasonable aerial surveillance
operations to establish the extent of pollution
A. Factors relating to the situation and at sea and on shorelines and to identify
condition of the sunken ship, such as:
resources vulnerable to contamination are
● The likelihood of the release of the accepted. Where several organisations are
remaining oil from the ship, for example involved in the response to an incident, aerial
because of damage to its structure, surveillance should be properly co-ordinated
corrosion, etc.; to avoid duplication of effort.