MENTATION OF THE OPRC CONVENTION&PERSPECTIVE OF IMO's ROLE1GURPREET S. SINGHOTATECHNICAL OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATIONLONDON

ABSTRACTThe International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation, 1990 (OPRC Convention) came into force on 13 May 1995. The main
objectives of the OPRC Convention are to facilitate international co-operation andmutual assistance in preparing for and responding to a marine pollution incident andto encourage states to develop and maintain adequate capability to deal credibly withoil pollution emergiencies. The paper outlines and describes in some detail the strategy
adopted by IMO in the implementation of the OPRC Convention, the mechanisms
established to address /discuss issues of mutual concern amongst the member states of
IMO and the oil industry, and the various activities undertaken by IMO in co-operation
with relevant sister UN organizations and the oil industry to assist countries requiring
assistance including the mobilization/provision of technical assistance to countries on
an individual basis. It is apparent that IMO's role as a provider of technical advice anddelievery of project assistance, as a co-ordinator for the mobilization of international
assistance to major marine pollution incidents upon the request of countries in need, asa Forum for discussion/overseeing the implementation of the OPRC Convention( through the meetings of the OPRC Working Group ) including the development ofmarine pollution preparedness and response training programmes is set to become
more important given its pro-active approach to promoting oil spill preparedness in cooperation with industry and governments.

1Opinions or assertions expressed in this paper are solely those of the author anddo not necessarily represent the views of the International Maritime Organization

PAJ OIL SPILL SYMPOSIIUM '96

Tokyo, Japan
4-5 March 1996

IMPLEMENTTION OF THE OPRC CONVENTION&PERSPECTIVE OF IMO's ROLE

Presented by
Gurpreet S. Singhota
International Maritime Organization
London2

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OPRC CONVENTION&PERSPECTIVE OF IMO's ROLE1
1

INTRODUCTION

The International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation, 1990 (OPRC Convention) came into force on 13 May 1995. A list of theParties to the Convention is shown at Annex 1. The basis for this Convention coming
into existence was the recognition of the fact that a major marine pollution incident,
from whatever sources, can pose a serious threat to the marine environment andrelated interests of one or more countries well beyond their capability to deal with it.
Hence, the main objectives of the OPRC Convention are to facilitate international cooperation and mutual assistance in preparing for and responding to such incidents andto encourage states to develop and maintain adequate capability to deal credibly withoil pollution emergencies. To achieve these goals, IMO has put into place animplementation strategy which encompasses various activities for capacity building
and institutional strengthening for oil spill preparedness and response with respect todeveloping countries and countries seeking assistance in these fields. This strategy isfocused primarily on, but not limited to, providing tools (manuals, guidelines, training
courses, etc.) to assist countries requiring assistance and mobilizing technicalassistance for countries on an individual basis or through regional or sub-regional
programmes or activities in co-operation with relevant sister UN organizations e.g.
UNEP and industry.
2

OVERVIEW OF IMO's IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY
The main activities through which IMO's strategy is implemented are:
OPRC Working Group;
IMO Oil Pollution Co-ordination Centre (OPCC);OPRC Information System;
Promotion of R&D;
National contingency planning development assistance;
Regional/sub-regional co-operation mechanisms and IMO's regional
strategies;
OPRC training strategy;
Participation in international oil spill conferences and seminars;
Co-operation with industry; andTechnical assistance/resource mobilization.

3

OPRC WORKING GROUPThe OPRC Working Group was established in 1991 by LMOs Marine
Environment Protection Committee to oversee the implementation of the OPRC
Convention. It is composed of experts from governments, intergovernmentalorganizations such as: Commission of the European Communities and Helsinki
Commission; industry organizations such as: International Tanker Owners Pollution
Federation Limited (ITOPF), International Petroleum Industry Environmental
Conservation Association (IPIECA), Oil Companies International Marine Forum do not
1Opinions or assertions expressed in this paper are solely those of the author andnecessarily represent the views of the International Maritime Organization(OCIMF), International Association of Ports and Harbors (LAPH), Oil Industry

3International Exploration and Production Forum (E&P Forum), etc., and nongovernmental organizations such as Greenpeace International. It carries out its workthrough "lead countries or organizations", correspondence groups and workshops, andhas recently developed, and is finalizing, a number of manuals and guidelines to assist
countries in the implementation of the Convention which include:
Completed
Revised Contingency Planning (Section II of the IMO Manual on Oil
Pollution);
Revised IMO/UNEP Guidelines on Oil Spill Dispersant Application
including Environmental Considerations;
Administrative/Legal Aspects Section of the IMO Manual on Oil Pollution;
Guidelines for Facilitation of Response to an Oil Pollution Incident;
Tropical Waters Oil Spill Response Field Guide;
Guidelines on Sensitivity Mapping for Oil Spill Response;
IMO Model Courses on Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response (On-scene
Commander); and"Consultation version - Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at
Local Level (APELL) in Port Areas" in co-operation with UNEP/IE.
Underway
OECD/IMO Guiding Principles on Chemical Accident Prevention,
Preparedness and Response in Ports;
Salvage (Section III - IMO Manual on Oil Pollution);
Chemical Spill Response (Section I - Manual on Chemical Pollution);
Guidelines for Sampling and Identification of Oil Spills;
Management of Exercises; andIMO Model Courses (Operators).
Future activities of the group will focus on the application of the OPRC
Convention to chemical accidents and the development of the necessary guidancematerial and model training courses. The current workplan appears at Annex 2.
4

IMO OIL POLLUTION CO-ORDINATION CENTRE (OPCC)

The Centre was established within the Marine Environment Division of IMO for
the purpose of carrying out the specific functions assigned to IMO under theConvention (i.e. information services, education and training, technical assistance, coordination and mobilization of international government response to major marine
pollution incidents upon the request of countries in need). It is currently staffed bypersonnel temporarily seconded to IMO by the Governments of Japan and the UnitedStates.
5

OPRC INFORMATION SYSTEMThe IMO Oil Pollution Co-ordination Centre (OPCC) has made considerable
efforts in putting together all relevant information on national and regional systems for
preparedness and response.
Article 6 of the OPRC Convention contains provisions for the submission of upto-date information to IMO on: national oil pollution response authorities; national
operational contact points for the receipt and transmission of oil pollution reports;
authorities dealing with mutual assistance in cases of oil pollution emergencies; oilpollution response equipment; oil pollution experts and national contingency plans.
The "OPRC Guide to International Assistance" has been published and was

4circulated to IMO Member States in February 1995 (MEPC/Circ.291). It contains
information on national contact points/capability of States' assistance for oil pollution
preparedness and response and contact points and succinct descriptions of United
Nations agencies, regional organizations, and industry organizations which can provide
technical/scientific advice in the event of a spill. All IMO Member States have beenrequested to submit information for this Guide and it is not limited to contracting
parties to OPRC.
Regulation 26 of Annex I of the International Convention for the Prevention of
Pollution from Ships, 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto(MARPOL 73/78) (Shipboard oil pollution emergency plan), entered into force on 4
April 1993 for new ships and the 24-month period of grace for existing ships expired on
3 April 1995. The shipboard oil pollution emergency plan should include as an appendix
the list of agencies or officials of administrations responsible for receiving andprocessing reports as developed and updated by IMO in compliance with article 8 of
MARPOL 73/78. With regard to the list of agencies or officials of administrations
responsible for receiving and processing reports as developed and updated by IMO
required under regulation 26 of Annex I of MARPOL 73/78, a more detailed andupdated list which contains about one hundred and twenty States* such contact points
has been circulated recently in July 1995 (“List of the National Operational Contact
Point or Points Responsible for the Receipt, Transmission and Processing of Urgent
Reports on Incidents Involving Harmful Substances Including Oil from Ships to
Coastal States" MEPC/Circ.299, 5 July 1995). Here again all IMO Member States, aswell as Contracting Parties to MARPOL 73/78, were requested to provide information
to IMO and all the information was collated by the OPCC.
6

R&D

Bearing in mind that Article 8 of the OPRC Convention specifically called on
Governments and IMO to play an active role in the promotion of R & D relating to theenhancement of the state-of the-art of oil pollution preparedness and response and theexchange of information, IMO took on the task of maintaining the R & D database,which includes about 270 project descriptions of current activity in oil spill technology,
research and development . The International Oil Pollution Research and Development
Abstract Database was originally developed by the US Coast Guard in compliance withTitle VII of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 which called for the co-ordination of acomprehensive programme of oil pollution research, technology development, anddemonstration among the US federal agencies, in cooperation with industry,
universities, research institutions, State governments, and other nations. IMO aims toensure that the database will be truly international in its scope.
Article 8(3) of the OPRC Convention calls upon governments to co-operate
directly or through the IMO or relevant regional organizations or arrangements topromote, as appropriate, the holding on a regular basis of international symposia on
relevant subjects, including technological advances in oil pollution combating
techniques and equipment. IMO organized the Second International Oil Spill Researchand Development Forum which was held at IMO Headquarters in London from 23-26
May 1995 with the co-sponsorship of the US Coast Guard, US Department of Energy,
US Environment Protection Agency, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, and the Commission of the European Communities. Nearly 90
technical papers from 15 countries were presented at the Forum to approximately 250
delegates from 34 countries.
The research and development efforts reported covered a complete range ofactivities designed to enhance the capacities of countries and organizations to prepare

5

for and respond to major oil spills. A prioritized list of research and development
activities which, in the view of the delegates to the Forum, should be pursued over the
next 5 years is attached as Annex 3.
7

NATIONAL CONTINGENCY PLANNING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

One of the basic obligations of the Convention is the establishment of a national
system for responding promptly and effectively to oil pollution incidents. Therefore,
IMO has assigned a high priority in its technical assistance programme to providing
technical advice to countries which are in the throes of developing national and local
contingency plans and obtaining the necessary oil spill combating equipment. In
providing such assistance the emphasis is placed on suitability and sustainability. The
national system must be tailored to the needs of each country and ideally be developed
from the beginning with the involvement of all interested parties. There also needs tobe provision for financing and supporting the systems with trained staff There is a
misguided traditional tendency to export model contingency planning, response andscientific support strategies as well as training programmes to counties without due
consideration of the ability of the recipient country to absorb and maintain such
systems. On the other side of the coin there is the disturbing view that it is best to
encourage developing countries to stop at the contingency planning stage and leave theprovision and deployment of equipment to those outside the country.
8

REGIONAL/SUB-REGIONAL CO-OPERATION MECHANISMS AND
IMO’S REGIONAL STRATEGIESLong before the adoption of the OPRC Convention, IMO, in co-operation with theUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and other interested internationaland regional organizations, was promoting and supporting regional agreements andmechanisms aimed at enhancing the capacity of countries to deal with a major marine
pollution emergency through collective planning and response. It is not surprising that
the Convention encourages governments to enter into such arrangements. One of theways regional oil spill combating agreements are given effect is through theestablishment of “regional centres" or operational contingency plans. IMO has
successfully operated the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre(REMPEC) for the Mediterranean Sea since 1976 and IMO is also active in developing
and supporting similar centres for the Black Sea (Varna, Bulgaria), the Wider
Caribbean (Curacao, Netherlands Antilles), Island States for the Western Indian Ocean
and the South Asia region, and the Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Centre (MEMAC) in
the Persian Gulf.
As can be seen from the table below practically every region of the world has
developed a regional arrangement, in many cases through IMO’s collaboration in the
IJNEP Regional Seas Programme.
Wider Caribbean
South East PacificNorth Sea
Mediterranean
N.E. Atlantic
Red Sea & Gulf of Aden
West and Central Africa
Eastern Africa - Indian Ocean

Black Sea
Baltic Sea
Kuwait Action Plan Region
South Asian Seas
North West Pacific
East Asian SeasSouth Pacific

IMO has played a catalytic role in the development of the Oil Spill Preparedness
and Response (OSPAR) programme whereby Japan has provided equipment and other6

support services (approximately US$10 million) for the purpose of implementing the
Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Oil Spill Response Action Plan. The
basic philosophy of IMO has always been that if a regional agreement or treaty is toremain viable it must be provided with a minimum of institutional support.
A fundamental objective of IMO’s strategy for the protection of the marine
environment is to strengthen the capacity for national and regional action to prevent ,control, combat and mitigate marine pollution, and to promote technical co-operation tothis end by co-operating fully with other organizations within the United Nations
family and relevant international, regional and non-governmental organizations toensure a co-ordinated approach to the problem and avoid wasteful duplication ofefforts.
Regional strategies are seen to be effective for they take into account the
problems, needs and possible solutions peculiar to a region while minimizing theconsiderable variations existing between continents in both maritime infrastructure
and levels of development; and the following four regional strategies for the protectionof the marine environment have been recently developed under the aegis of IMO;
.1

ROCRAM (1990-2000) Strategy for the protection of the marine
environment of South America, Mexico, Panama and Cuba;.2

ROCRAM-CA (1990-2000) Strategy for the protection of the marine
environment of Central America and Dominican Republic;.3

SOAPP - Strategy for the protection of the marine environment in theSouth Pacific;.4

SPMEESA- Strategy and action plan for the protection of the marine
environment in Eastern and Southern Africa.

However, only very limited funds are presently available to implement the
specific activities outlined in these strategies, which by design, focus on prevention in
addition to oil spill preparedness.
9

TRAINING STRATEGYThe OPRC Convention obliges governments to establish a programme of
exercises for oil pollution response organizations and training of relevant personnel. It
also calls on IMO to develop a comprehensive training programme in co-operation withinterested governments and industry. The core of this programme is the development
and delivery of IMO Model Courses on Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response which
includes courses for operational staff, supervisors/on-scene commanders, senior
management level personnel and a train-the-trainer course. This activity which has
been led by the Canadian government, has given priority to the preparation of
instructors manuals, student workbooks and the identification of course materials for
the On-scene Commanders Course. The IMO approach is to test the model courses indeveloping country regions and adjust them taking into account the results. The
ultimate goal is to implant the courses into existing regional and national training
institutions with appropriate train-the-trainer programmes, to enable the courses to be
self-sustaining.
10

PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL OIL SPILL CONFERENCES
AND SEMINARSIMO has been actively participating in many international oil spill Conferences
and seminars. The latest was the 1995 International Oil Spill Conference in Los
Angeles, U.S.A. during March 1995, which was sponsored by the American Petroleum

7

Institute, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Environmental Agency, International Maritime
Organization and International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation
Association. The Programme Committee of this Conference of which IMO was a core
member commissioned three white papers to address issues of special importance to theoil spill community, namely:i) Implementing an effective response management system;ii) Perspective on establishing and maintaining oil pollution
capabilities; andiii)The use and misuse of science in natural resource management.

response

It can be seen that IMO takes active interest and makes a positive contribution
to the proceedings of various symposia, seminars and workshops connected with oil
pollution preparedness and response.
11

CO-OPERATION WITH INDUSTRYThe OPRC Convention is the first convention developed by IMO which explicitly
recognizes the importance of involving the oil and shipping industry in its
implementation. To facilitate this process an IMO/Industry Consultative Forum has
been established. Representatives from IPLECA, LTOPF, International Chamber of
Shipping (ICS), International Association of Independent Tanker Owners(INTERTANKO), OCLMF and E&P Forum meet regularly with the Secretary-Generalof IMO, and the staff of the Marine Environment Division, to encourage a co-ordinated,
and where feasible, joint approach to such matters as education and training, technicalguidelines, advice to countries on contingency planning, and implementation of
relevant chapters of Agenda 21, etc. The joint NO/industry seminar programme focuseson the contingency planning process and the need to promote government and industry
co-operation in this process. Since September 1991 a series of seven such seminars havebeen held in the ASEAN region, the Mediterranean, Latin America, West/East Africa,
the Persian Gulf Caribbean, and the Asian/Pacific region and .These seminars havehighlighted that response capabilities vary considerably from country to country, andco-operation between government and industry is inadequate in many areas, and there
is a need for on-going intentional leadership and support to sustain activities withinregions.
IMO and industry are also presently discussing a joint initiative entitled 的MO/Industry Initiative to Enhance the Capacity of Countries to Prepare for andRespond to Marine Oil Spills* the purpose of which is to promote capacity building andinstitutional strengthening at national and regional levels to deal effectively withmarine oil spill incidents and to implement the OPRC Convention. Preliminary
activities relating to the development of a project proposal have been already beentaken. Recently, IMO/IIPIECA have established contact with the World Bank, GEF,
UNDP and UNEP to progress further the proposal and initial reviews by them havebeen encouraging. It is hoped that further progress will be achieved during the coming
months. The Initiative will be launched in the African Region at the IMO/Industry Oil
Spill Planning Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa in March 1996. A grant from UK
ODA provided funds for an IMO/IPIECA team to hold workshops with representatives
from government and industry in Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Tanzania in advance of theCape Town meeting, to test the procedures for establishing projects under the Global
Initiative. The results of the workshops are to be presented at the Cape Town meeting.
Also during the course of these discussions the International Tanker Owners
Pollution Fund (ITOPF) undertook a review of the state of preparedness of coastal
states with regard to oil spill response entitled “A Preliminary Assessment of the Risk

8of Oil Spills and the State of Preparedness in 13 UNEP Regional Seas Areas" whichshowed disparity among nations and regions; some countries have concentrated on
implementation of compensation schemes, others on equipment stockpiles while others
on national contingency plans. In one aspect or another, most showed gaps in overall oil
spill preparedness.
12

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND RESOURCE MOBILIZATION

Governments are obliged, under the Convention, to provide support for countries
requesting technical assistance in respect of oil pollution preparedness and response
and to co-operate actively in the transfer of technology, either bilaterally or
multilaterally, through IMO. Consequently, marine pollution preparedness andresponse projects are an essential part of IMO’s Sub-Programme for the Protection of
the Marine Environment and an important means by which the strategy for the
implementation of the OPRC Convention is realized.
IMO operates at a considerable disadvantage in this regard since the IMO
Member States have not allocated funds for technical assistance projects in the regularbudget of the Organization, and IMO has to depend to a large extent on UNDP, UNEP,GEF and multi-bi lateral donors for finding of project activities. Nevertheless, IMO has
been successful in integrating OPRC-related issues into regional action plans andprojects supported by UNEP, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and
the Global Environment Facility (GEF), as well as mobilizing funding support fromseveral interested governments (e.g. Norway, Sweden, United States, United Kingdom,etc. and the EEC) for specific activities.
The GEF has been restructured taking into account Agenda 21 (the Action Planof the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) and thedesire to establish the GEF as one of the principal mechanism for global environment
funding. A new GEE Trust Fund has been established and agreement reached on a first
replenishment of approximately US$ 2.02 billion. “International waters* is one of thefour focal areas, climate change, biological diversity and ozone-layer depletion being
the other three, for which funding will be available to carry out projects which willachieve global environmental benefits. Historically only 15 to 20 percent of the total
GEF has been devoted to “international waters* projects. It is anticipated that revised
criteria for the eligibility of projects for funding will shortly be approved by thegovernments. That such projects must be country driven and based on national
priorities will however remain an essential requirement and places the onus on
governments to assign high priority to the implementation of the OPRC Convention in
their proposals for GEF support.
It is unlikely that increased funding will be available for projects on theprevention and control of sea-based sources of pollution given the current trend to
tackle the more persistent and environmentally threatening land-based sources ofpollutants. There is also a clear trend toward dealing with marine pollution problems ina holistic way through coastal zone management projects in which all sources of marine
environmental degradation are dealt with in an integrated fashion.
The GEF/UNDP/IMO Regional Programme for the Prevention and Managementof Marine Pollution in the East Asian Seas is an example of a relatively large-scale(US$ 8 million) integrated coastal zone management project in which marine pollution
preparedness and response issues are addressed. Within this programme there is a
specific project on strengthening pollution risk assessment and management
capabilities in the Malacca Straits which obviously has a direct linkage to the objectivesof the OPRC Convention.

9

In the North-West Pacific region, IMO in co-operation with UNEP isundertaking activities for promoting sub-regional co-operation to enhance national
capabilities in marine pollution emergency preparedness and response. The countries
involved are China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, Republic of Korea
and the Russian Federation. The second phase of the project which was theorganization of a meeting of government-designated OPRO experts to consider the
IMO/UNEP expert’s recommendations and to further develop the region’s marine
pollution preparedness and response programme was held in Bangkok, Thailand, 27-29
November 1995. The meeting discussed and adopted a future plan for co-operation.
In November 1994, IMO undertook a needs assessment mission to the Island
States of the Western Indian Ocean for the establishment of an emergency response,
information and training centre for co-ordination of relevant activities. The proposed
activities have the support of the Governments of Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros,
Seychelles and the Maldives. In March 1995, the draft report of the Consultant wassent to the countries for their review and comments. Comments were received from
Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles while the input from Comoros is still
awaited. However, the report of the Consultant was finalized and submitted toparticipating countries for their endorsement in the beginning of February 1996. It is
proposed to submit this project framework to UNDP/GEF for securing funds to mount a
project formulation mission towards the third quarter of 1996.
In the South Asia region, IMO in co-operation with UNEP will shortly commence
work on developing a project proposal entitled “Development and Implementation of
National and Regional oil Spill Contingency Planning* including work on reviewing
and updating the South Asia Marine Pollution Emergency Action Plan for Bangladesh,
India, Pakistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka Secondly, in response to a request received
from the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd., India to assist in reviewing the existing
situation within the context of establishing oil spill response centres on the east andwest coasts of India including recommendations on the scope of the stockpile ofequipment to be procured, guidance on the organization set up and operational
modalities, IMO fielded a two-man advisory mission to India during 19-30 October
1995.The draft report of the IMO advisory mission team was submitted to ONGC in
December 1995.
In the Red Sea region, IMO has assisted Eritrea in developing a draft National
Contingency Plan.
13

FUTURE ORIENTATION OF ACTIVITIESIt is known that complying with the requirements of any treaty or convention
and the responsibility for its implementation rests with governments. The various
requirements of the OPRC Convention, namely the establishment of pollution
reporting systems, oil pollution emergency plans, and national response systems will
have to be reflected in national laws and policies. However, the mobilization andmanagement of resources required to respond to a large oil spill is a great challenge to
any nation, large or small, advanced or developing. Most developing countries are atparticular risk due to their limited resources and economic reliance on the coastal
environment , in particular for fishing and tourism.
As mentioned earlier, scarcity of funds available from traditional donors such as
UNDP will have impact on the range and scope of technical assistance activities.
Governments and industry will have to co-operate more closely to achieve theirobjectives of maintaining a viable response capability, and IMO will be called upon
more often to facilitate this arrangement.

10

Paragraph 17.33 of Agenda 21 calls upon States to consider ratifying theConvention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation, which
addresses, inter alia, the development of contingency plans on the national andinternational level, as appropriate, including provision of oil-spill response material
and training of personnel, including its possible extension to chemical spill response.
Recognizing that oil and chemical spills generally have major differences in their
response requirements, the OPRC Working Group is now starting to consider ways thatnational capabilities to respond to chemical spills may be developed and co-ordinatedinternationally. Thus , the chemical spill response aspect of Agenda 21 will also assume
more importance in IMO’s future work programme. Preparatory work in this area will
start with the preparation of a revised draft protocol on extending the application of the
OPRC Convention to harmful/hazardous substances during the second intersessional
meeting of the OPRC Working Group during 26 February to 1 March 1996 forconsideration at MEPC 38.
14

CONCLUSIONSAll of the 90 representatives of the States which participated in the diplomaticconference which adopted the OPRC Convention were well aware of the existence andimportance of regional agreements and arrangements on co-operation in combating
marine pollution. Indeed, it was well understood that the OPRC Convention was notintended to supersede the obligations of such agreements or the functions of viable
regional centres such as REMPEC and MEMAC. The intent was to strengthen global
cooperation and mobilize mutual assistance in instances where a regional response iseither not available or unable to cope with the situation for whatever reason. But, ofcourse, as can be seen, the Convention’s scope is wider than simply providing “back-up
insurance ,, m a spill is beyond national and regional government response capability.
It is primarily focused on encouraging states to develop and maintain an adequate
capability to deal with oil pollution emergencies through participation in a global
network of states and industry prepared to help through the OPRC framework and
IMO. It is anticipated that wide acceptance of the Convention will provide the basis forthe provision of so-called “capacity building" technical assistance activities currently
being financed under the umbrella of the implementation of Agenda 21 of the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
If this Convention is to provide a viable international framework for co-operation,
mutual assistance, and transfer of technology it is essential that it is widely accepted
and implemented. Indeed, it is hoped that the Governments will recognize theimportance of their participation in the implementation of the OPRC Convention given
the vital role this Convention can play in developing the capacity of countries to
respond to oil pollution emergencies.
It is obvious that the ultimate effectiveness of the OPRC Convention will dependon the extent to which governments and the industry working together can build thecapacity of countries to prepare for and respond to oil pollution incidents. This can bebest achieved by approaching the problem from a global perspective which will promoteinternational co-operation, and IMO can co-ordinate this process by first promoting
industry/government co-operation at the national level and gradually building up to the
sub-regional/regional and finally to the global level.
Given its pro-active approach to promoting oil spill preparedness in co-operation
with industry and governments, IMO’s role as a provider of technical advice anddelivery of project assistance and as a forum for discussion in overseeing theimplementation of the OPRC Convention is bound to become more important in future.

ANNEX 1
List of countries that have ratified/accepted the OPRC Convention:-Argentina
Australia
CanadaEgypt
El Salvador
FinlandFranceGermany
GreeceIcelandJapan
Liberia
Marshall Islands
MexicoNetherlands
Nigeria
NorwayPakistan
Senegal
Seychelles
Spain
SwedenTunisia
United states
Uruguay
Venezuela

ANNEX 2

ANNEX 3

Second International Oil Spill Research and Development Forum
IMO, London. 23-26 May 1995
Summary List ofAgreed Top Research Priorities