The same is true of the prospects for the success of any clean-up operation which may prove necessary. Although this review is primarily concerned with command and control in the public interest during the conduct of marine salvage operations, it has to extend more widely. This plan is developed by the government in consultation with all interested parties and sets out arrangements for dealing with all aspects of marine pollution arising from spillages of oil or other hazardous substances in the marine environment. The Convention requires that ships, offshore installations 2 and sea ports and oil handling facilities 3 have oil pollution emergency plans. The Convention came into force in the United Kingdom on 16 December 1997 and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has been designated as the competent authority for oil pollution preparedness and response.
Marine pollution is associated in the public mind with pollution from oil cargoes.
This is only part of the picture. Quite apart from the fact that many large ships carry more oil as bunkers than smaller tankers carry as cargo, oil is by no means the only potential pollutant. Thus the introduction of seawater into a normally fresh water river would constitute pollution. So too would the flooding of London due to an incident on the Thames Barrier. On the other hand there are cases of substances introduced into the sea without resulting in any obvious harm, when for example, they are rapidly dispersed and are diluted to concentrations below the toxic threshold.