For the purposes of this Convention:

1. "Ship" means any marine vessel or marine equipment, whatever it is, constructed or adapted for the transport of bulk oil as cargo, provided that a ship capable of transporting oil and other cargo does not Be considered to be a ship only when it actually transports bulk oil as cargo and during any voyage resulting from such carriage, unless it is established that no residue of that transport remains on board Of bulk oil. ¹

2. "Person" means any natural person or legal person of public or private law, including a State and its political subdivisions.

3. "Owner" means the person or persons on whose behalf the ship is registered or, in the absence of registration, the person or persons whose vessel is the property. However, in the case of ships owned by a State and operated by a company which, in that State, is registered as the operator of the ships, the expression "owner" means that company.

4. "State of registration of the ship" means, in respect of registered ships, the State in which the ship was registered, and in respect of non-registered ships the State of which the ship beats the flag.

5. "Hydrocarbons" means all persistent mineral hydrocarbons, including crude oil, fuel oil, heavy diesel oil and lubricating oil, whether carried on a ship as cargo or in the welts of that vessel. Vessel. ²

6. "Pollution damage" means:

(a)

The damage or damage caused to the outside of the ship by contamination following a leak or a discharge of oil from the ship, where such leak or discharge occurs, on the understanding that the allowances paid under The alteration of the environment other than the loss due to this alteration will be limited to the cost of reasonable remediation measures that have been or will be taken;

(b)

The cost of safeguard measures and other damage or damage caused by such measures. ³

7. "Safeguard measures" means any reasonable measures taken by any person after the occurrence of an event to prevent or limit pollution.

8. "Event" means any fact or set of facts having the same origin and which results from pollution or constitutes a serious and imminent threat of pollution. ⁴

9. "Organization" means the International Maritime Organization. ⁵

10. "1969 Liability Convention" means the 1969 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage. For the States party to the 1976 Protocol to the Convention, the term refers to the 1969 Convention on Liability, as amended by this Protocol. ⁶

This Convention shall apply exclusively to:

(a)

Pollution damage caused by:

(i)

In the territory, including the territorial sea, of a Contracting State, and

(ii)

In the exclusive economic zone of a Contracting State established in accordance with international law or, if a Contracting State has not established that area, in an area beyond the territorial sea of that State and adjacent to it, determined By that State in accordance with international law and not extending beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the width of the territorial sea is measured;

(b)

Safeguard measures, wherever they are taken, to prevent or reduce such damage.

1. The owner of the ship at the time of an event or, if the event consists of a succession of facts, at the time of the first occurrence, shall be responsible for any pollution damage caused by the ship and resulting from the event, except in the Cases provided by s. 2 and 3 of this article. ¹

2. Owner is not liable if he proves that the damage caused by pollution

(a)

The result of an act of war, hostilities, civil war, insurrection, or a natural phenomenon of exceptional, inevitable and irresistible character, or

(b)

Wholly results from the fact that a third party has deliberately acted or failed to act with the intention of causing injury, or

(c)

Results in all of the negligence or other prejudicial action of a government or other authority responsible for the maintenance of the lights or other aids to navigation in the exercise of that function.

3. If the owner proves that the pollution damage is wholly or partly the result of the fact that the person who has suffered it has acted or failed to act with the intention of causing injury or the negligence of that person, the owner may Be exempt from all or part of its liability to that person.

4. No claim for compensation for pollution damage may be filed against the owner other than on the basis of this Convention. Subject to subs. 5 of this Article, no claim for compensation for damage caused by pollution, whether or not based on this Convention, cannot be made against:

(a)

The servants or agents of the owner or members of the equipment;

(b)

The pilot or any other person who, without being a member of the crew, performs services for the ship;

(c)

Any charterer (under any name, including a bare-shell charterer) amateur or amateur-managing the ship;

(d)

Any person performing rescue operations with the agreement of the owner or on instructions from a competent public authority;

(e)

Any person taking safeguard measures;

(f)

All servants or agents of persons referred to in s. (c), (d) and (e);

Unless the damage is caused by their personal act or omission, committed with the intention of causing such damage, or committed recklessly and with an awareness that such damage would likely result. ²

5. Nothing in this Convention shall affect the owner's rights of recourse against third parties.

When an event involves more than one ship and the resulting pollution damage results, the owners of all the vessels in issue are, subject to the exemptions set out in s. III, jointly and severally liable for all damage that is not reasonably divisible.

The owner of a ship shall be entitled to limit its liability under this Convention to a total amount per event calculated as follows:

(a)

4,510,000 units of account for a ship whose tonnage does not exceed 5000 units;

(b)

For a ship whose tonnage exceeds this number of units, for each additional tonnage unit, 631 units of account in excess of the amount referred to in par. (a);

However, it is understood that the total amount will not in any case exceed 89,770 000 units of account. ¹

(2) The owner is not entitled to limit his liability under this Convention if it is proved that the damage caused by pollution is the result of his personal act or omission, committed with the intention of causing such damage, or Recklessly and conscientiously that such damage would likely result. ²

3. In order to benefit from the limitation provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, the owner shall constitute a fund raising the limit of liability to the court or any other competent authority of any of the States Contractors where an action is commenced under s. IX or, in the absence of such action, before a court or other competent authority of any of the Contracting States where an action may be instituted under Art. IX. The fund may be constituted either by the deposit of the sum or by the presentation of a bank guarantee or any other acceptable guarantee permitted by the law of the Contracting State in which the fund is constituted, and deemed satisfactory By the court or any other competent authority. ³

4. The distribution of the fund between creditors shall be effected in proportion to the amounts of the claims admitted.

5. If, prior to the distribution of the fund, the owner, his agent or his agent, or any person providing the insurance or other financial guarantee has, as a result of the event, paid an indemnity for pollution damage, that person Is subrogated, to the extent that it has paid, to the rights that the person compensated would have had under this Convention.

6. The right of subrogation under subs. 5 of this Article may be exercised by a person other than those mentioned therein with regard to any amount that it would have paid in order to repair the pollution damage, provided that such subrogation is permitted by law Applicable national.

7. Where the owner or any other person determines that he or she may be required to pay in whole or in part an amount for which he or she would have benefited from subrogation under subs. 5 or 6 of this article if the indemnity had been paid before the distribution of the fund, the court or other competent authority of the State where the fund is constituted may order that a sufficient sum be provisionally reserved for the purpose of The person concerned to subsequently assert his rights in the fund.

8. As far as they are reasonable, the expenses incurred and the sacrifices made voluntarily by the owner in order to avoid or reduce pollution confer on the owner on the fund equal rights to those of other creditors.

9.

(a) The "unit of account" referred to in subs. 1 of this Article is the special drawing right as defined by the International Monetary Fund. The amounts referred to in par. 1 shall be converted into national currency according to the value of that currency in relation to the special drawing right at the date of the formation of the fund referred to in paragraph 1. 3. The value, in special drawing rights, of the national currency of a Contracting State which is a member of the International Monetary Fund shall be calculated according to the method of valuation applied by the International Monetary Fund on the date Its own transactions and transactions. The value, in special drawing rights, of the national currency of a Contracting State which is not a member of the International Monetary Fund shall be calculated in the manner determined by that State.

(b)

However, a Contracting State which is not a member of the International Monetary Fund and whose legislation does not permit the application of the provisions of subs. 9 (a) may, at the time of ratification, acceptance or approval of this Convention or accession to this Convention or at any time thereafter, declare that the unit of account referred to in subs. 9 (a) is equal to 15 francs-gold. The gold franc referred to in this paragraph corresponds to 65 milligrams and a half gold in the title of nine hundred thousandths of the end. The conversion of the gold franc into national currency shall be carried out in accordance with the legislation of the State concerned.

(c)

The calculation mentioned in the last sentence of s. 9 (a) and the conversion referred to in para. 9 (b) shall be made in such a way as to express in the national currency of the Contracting State the same real value, to the extent possible, for the amounts provided for in subs. 1 that would arise from the application of the first three sentences of s. 9 (a). The Contracting States shall communicate to the depositary their method of calculation in accordance with subs. 9 (a) or the results of the conversion according to par. 9 (b), as the case may be, at the time of deposit of their instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval of this Convention or of accession to it and whenever there is a change in that method of calculation or in those results. ⁴

For the purposes of this Article, the tonnage of the vessel shall be the gross tonnage calculated in accordance with the gauging rules set out in Annex I to the International Convention on the Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969. ⁵

11. The insurer or any other person from whom the financial guarantee emanates may constitute a fund in accordance with this Article under the same conditions and with the same effects as if the fund were constituted by the owner. Such a fund may be constituted even where, under the provisions of s. 2, the owner is not entitled to limit his liability, but the constitution does not, in this case, affect the rights of the victims to the owner. ⁶

L. Where, after the event, the owner has established a fund pursuant to s. V and is entitled to limit its liability,

(a)

No right to compensation for pollution damage resulting from the event cannot be exercised on other property of the owner,

(b)

The court or other competent authority of any Contracting State shall order the discharge of the ship or other property owned by the owner, seised following a request for compensation for pollution damage caused by the same event, and The same applies to any surety or other security posted in order to avoid such seizure.

2. The preceding provisions, however, apply only if the applicant has access to the court which controls the fund and whether the fund can actually be used to cover his application.

L. The owner of a ship registered in a Contracting State and carrying more than 2000 tonnes of bulk oil as cargo shall be required to take out insurance or other financial security, such as bank guarantee or Certificate issued by an international compensation fund, of an amount determined by application of the limits of liability set out in s. V, by. L, to cover its liability for pollution damage in accordance with the provisions of this Convention.

2. A certificate attesting that an insurance or other financial guarantee is valid in accordance with the provisions of this Convention shall be issued to each ship after the competent authority of the Contracting State has ensured that The ship complies with the requirements of s. 1. In the case of a ship registered in a Contracting State, that certificate shall be issued or referred to by the competent authority of the State of registration of the ship; in the case of a ship not registered in a Contracting State, the certificate May be issued or referred to by the competent authority of any Contracting State. ¹ The certificate must conform to the attached template and contain the following information:

(a)

Name of vessel and port of registration;

(b)

Name and location of the owner's principal place of business;

(c)

Type of warranty;

(d)

The name and place of the principal place of business of the insurer or other person granting the guarantee and, where applicable, the place of establishment with which the insurance or guarantee has been subscribed;

(e)

The period of validity of the certificate, which cannot exceed that of the insurance or guarantee.

3. The certificate shall be established in the official language or languages of the issuing State. If the language used is neither English nor French, the text includes a translation into one of those languages.

4. The certificate shall be on board the ship and a copy shall be filed with the authority holding the registry of the ship or, if the ship is not registered in a Contracting State, with the authority of the State which Issued or referred to the certificate. ²

5. An insurance or other financial guarantee shall not satisfy the provisions of this Article if it may cease to have effect, for a reason other than the expiry of the period of validity indicated in the certificate pursuant to s. 2 of this Article, before the expiration of three months from the day on which notice was given to the authority cited in subs. 4 of this Article, unless the certificate has been returned to that authority or a new valid certificate has been issued before the end of that period. The foregoing shall also apply to any change in the insurance or financial guarantee having the effect that it no longer satisfies the provisions of this Article.

The State of registration shall determine the conditions for the grant and validity of the certificate, subject to the provisions of this Article.

7. Certificates issued or subject to the responsibility of a Contracting State under subs. 2 shall be recognised by other Contracting States for the purposes of this Convention and shall be regarded by them as having the same value as the certificates issued and referred to by themselves, even in the case of a ship which is not Registered in a Contracting State. ³ A Contracting State may at any time request the State which issued or targeted the certificate ⁴ An exchange of views if it considers that the insurer or guarantor on the certificate is not financially capable of meeting the obligations imposed by the Convention.

8. Any claim for damages due to pollution may be made directly against the insurer or the person from whom the financial guarantee emanates from the liability of the owner for pollution damage. In such a case, the defendant may, even where the owner is not entitled to limit his liability in accordance with art. V, para. 2, take advantage of the limits of liability set out in s. V, para. 1. ⁵ The defendant may also avail himself of the means of defence which the owner himself would be entitled to rely on, except those alleging bankruptcy or liquidation of the owner. In addition, the defendant may rely on the fact that the pollution damage is the result of intentional fault

Of the owner himself, but he cannot rely on any of the other defences that he could have relied upon in an action brought by the owner against him. The defendant may in any case oblige the owner to join the proceedings.

9. Any fund consisting of insurance or other financial security under s. L of this Article shall be available only for the settlement of allowances due under this Convention.

(10) A Contracting State shall not authorise a ship subject to the provisions of this Article and flying its flag to trade if that ship is not equipped with a certificate issued pursuant to subs. 2 or 12 of this article.

Subject to the provisions of this Article, each Contracting State shall ensure that, according to its national law, insurance or other financial guarantee corresponding to the requirements of subs. 1 of this Article covers any ship, irrespective of its place of registration, which enters its ports or leaves them or arrives at terminal facilities off the coast in its territorial sea or leaves them, if it Effectively transports more than 2000 tonnes of bulk oil as cargo.

12. If a ship owned by the State is not covered by insurance or other financial security, the relevant provisions of this Article shall not apply to that ship. The ship shall, however, be provided with a certificate issued by the competent authorities of the State of registry certifying that the ship is the property of that State and that its liability is covered within the limits set out in Art. V by. 1. This certificate follows as closely as possible the model prescribed in par. 2 of this article.

The rights to compensation provided for in this Convention shall be extinguished in the absence of legal action brought pursuant to the provisions of this Convention within three years from the date on which the damage occurred. However, no legal proceedings may be instituted after a period of six years from the date of the occurrence of the event that caused the damage. When this event occurred in several stages, the six-year period runs from the first of these stages.

1. Where an event has caused pollution damage in the territory, including the territorial sea, or in an area as defined in Art. II, one or more Contracting States, or that safeguard measures have been taken to prevent or mitigate any damage caused by pollution in that territory, including the sea

Or in such a zone, a claim for compensation may only be made before the courts of that Contracting State or States. Notice must be given to the defendant, within a reasonable time, of the introduction of such applications. ¹

(2) Each Contracting State shall ensure that its courts have jurisdiction to hear such remedies.

3. After the establishment of the Fund in accordance with the provisions of Art. V, the courts of the State where the fund is constituted shall have exclusive jurisdiction to decide on all matters relating to the distribution and distribution of the fund.

1. Any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction under s. IX, which is enforceable in the State of origin where it can no longer be the subject of an ordinary remedy, is recognised in any other Contracting State, except:

(a)

If the judgment was obtained fraudulently;

(b)

If the defendant has not been notified within a reasonable time and able to present his or her defence.

2. Any judgment that is recognized under s. 1 of this Article shall be enforceable in each Contracting State as soon as the procedures required in that State have been complied with. These procedures cannot allow a revision to the substance of the application.

(1) The provisions of this Convention shall not apply to warships and other ships belonging to or operated by a State and assigned exclusively, at that time, to a State non-commercial service.

2. As regards ships belonging to a Contracting State and used for commercial purposes, each State shall be liable to prosecution before the courts referred to in Art. IX and renounce all defences which it could rely on as a sovereign State.

This Convention shall prevail over international conventions which, on the date on which it is open for signature, are in force or open for signature, ratification or accession, but only to the extent that such conventions Shall be in conflict with it; however, this provision shall not affect the obligations of Contracting States to non-Contracting States as a result of those Conventions.

The following transitional provisions shall apply in the case of a State which, on the date of an event, is a Party to both this Convention and the 1969 Convention on Liability:

(a)

Where an event has caused pollution damage within the scope of this Convention, the liability governed by this Convention shall be considered to be borne in the case and to the extent that it is also governed by the Convention 1969 on accountability;

(b)

Where an event has caused pollution damage within the scope of this Convention and the State is a Party to this Convention and to the 1971 International Convention for the Establishment of an International Fund Compensation for damage caused by oil pollution, the remaining responsibility for the application of the provisions of s. (a) this Article shall be governed by this Convention only to the extent that pollution damage has not been fully repaired after the provisions of the said 1971 Convention have been applied;

(c)

For the purposes of applying s. III, para. 4, of this Convention, the words "this Convention" shall be interpreted as referring to this Convention or to the 1969 Convention on Liability, as the case may be;

(d)

For the purposes of applying s. V, para. 3, of this Convention, the total amount of the fund to be constituted shall be reduced by the amount for which liability shall be considered to be assumed in accordance with subs. (a) of this section.

The final clauses of this Convention are the art. 12 to 18 of the 1992 Protocol amending the 1969 Convention on Liability. References in this Convention to the Contracting States shall be regarded as references to the Contracting States to that Protocol.

(1) This Convention shall remain open for signature until 31 December 1970 and shall remain open for accession.

2. The member States of the United Nations, of any of its specialized agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or parties to the Statute of the International Court of Justice may become parties to the Present Convention by:

(a)

Signature without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval;

(b)

Signature subject to ratification, acceptance or approval followed by ratification, acceptance or approval; or

(c)

Membership.

(1) Ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be effected by the deposit of a formal instrument with the Secretary-General of the Organization.

2. Any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, deposited after the entry into force of an amendment to this Convention in force in respect of all Contracting States to the Convention or after the completion of All measures required for the entry into force of the amendment in respect of the said Contracting States shall be deemed to apply to the Convention as amended by the amendment.

(1) This Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date on which the governments of eight States, including five representatives of States with at least 1 million gross tons in tankers, or Signed without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval, or have deposited an instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Secretary-General of the Organization.

2. For each State ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to the Convention, it shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the deposit by that State of the appropriate instrument.

(1) This Convention may be terminated by any of the Contracting States after its entry into force.

(2) Denunciation shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument with the Secretary-General of the Organization.

(3) Denunciation shall take effect one year after the date of the deposit of the instrument with the Secretary-General of the Organization or at the expiration of any longer period that may be specified in that instrument.

The United Nations, when it assumes responsibility for the administration of a territory, or any Contracting State responsible for the international relations of a territory, shall consult as soon as possible with the competent authorities of In order to extend the application of this Convention and, at any time, by written notification to the Secretary-General of the Organization, to make known that such an extension has taken place.

(2) The application of this Convention shall be extended to the territory designated in the notification from the date of receipt of this Convention or such other date as may be indicated.

(3) The United Nations, or any Contracting State which has made a declaration under the first paragraph of this Article, may at any time after the date on which the application of the Convention has so been extended to a territory Know, by written notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the Organization, that this Convention shall cease to apply to the territory designated in the notification.

(4) This Convention shall cease to apply to the territory designated in the notification one year after the date of its receipt by the Secretary-General of the Organization or at the expiration of any other longer period specified in the notification.

(1) The Organization may convene a conference to revise or amend this Convention.

(2) The Organization shall convene a conference of the Contracting States whose object is to revise or amend this Convention at the request of at least one third of the Contracting States.

This Convention shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Organization.

2. The Secretary-General of the Organization:

(a)

Inform all States that have signed or acceded to the Convention:

(i)

Any new signature or deposit of a new instrument and the date on which such signature or deposit occurred;

(ii)

Any deposit of instruments denouncing this Convention and the date on which the deposit took place;

(iii)

Of the extension to any territory of this Convention under s. 1 of the art. XVII and the termination of any such extension under s. 4 of the same article, indicating in each case the date on which the extension of this Convention has taken or will be terminated;

(b)

Shall transmit certified copies of this Convention to all signatory States of this Convention and to all States that adhere to it.

Upon entry into force of this Convention, the Secretary-General of the Organization shall transmit the text to the Secretariat of the United Nations for registration and publication, in accordance with Art. 102 of the United Nations Charter.

This Convention shall be established in a single copy in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authentic. Official translations into Russian and Spanish languages shall be drawn up with the original copy bearing signatures.

In witness whereof, The undersigned, duly authorized to that effect by their Governments, have signed this Convention.

Done at Brussels, 27 November 1969.

(Suivent signatures)