1992 Civil Liability Convention (oil pollution)
The IMO convention that makes a tanker owner strictly liable for pollution damage from persistent oil, within a tonnage-based limit, and requires it to carry insurance.
The International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, as amended by its 1992 Protocol, channels liability to the registered owner of the ship. The owner is liable for damage caused by a spill of persistent oil carried in bulk as cargo, without the victim having to prove fault, save for narrow defenses such as an act of war or the sole fault of a third party. In return, the owner may limit liability to an amount based on the ship's tonnage, unless it acted recklessly through personal fault. Any ship carrying more than 2,000 tons of oil in bulk must hold insurance or other financial security, evidenced by a certificate, and the victim has a direct action against the insurer, in practice a P&I club. The convention forms the first tier of a system whose second tier is the IOPC Fund, financed by oil receivers.
When the Erika sank off Brittany on December 12, 1999, the owner's liability under the CLC was limited to about 12.8 million euros, while the total available with the 1992 international fund reached 135 million SDR.
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