The States Parties to this Agreement,

Recalling Article 194 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, which states that States must take all necessary measures to prevent, reduce, and control pollution of the marine environment,

Also recalling Article 235 of that Convention which stipulates that States, in order to ensure prompt and adequate compensation for all damage caused by pollution of the marine environment, must cooperate in developing relevant rules of international law,

Considering that the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage of 1992, and the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage of 1992 have succeeded in ensuring compensation for persons affected by damage caused by pollution resulting from the escape or discharge of oil transported by ships,

Also considering that the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea of 1996 was adopted to provide adequate, prompt, and effective compensation for damage resulting from incidents involving the carriage of hazardous and noxious substances by sea,

Recognizing the importance of establishing liability for all forms of oil pollution related to an appropriate level of that liability,

Believing that it is necessary to establish supplementary measures to ensure the payment of adequate, prompt, and effective compensation for damage caused by pollution resulting from the escape or discharge of oil from ships,

Desiring to adopt uniform international rules and procedures to determine issues related to liability and provide adequate compensation in these cases,

Have agreed as follows:

This Agreement applies only to the following:

(a) Damage caused by pollution:

• (i) in the territory of a State Party, including its territorial sea, and

• (ii) in the exclusive economic zone of a State Party, defined in accordance with international law or, if the State Party has not defined this zone, in an area located beyond the territorial sea of that State and adjacent to it, as determined by that State in accordance with international law, provided that it does not extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of its territorial sea is measured;

(b) Preventive measures, wherever taken, to avoid or minimize such damage.

1. This Agreement does not apply to pollution damages defined in the Civil Liability Agreement, regardless of the entitlement or non-entitlement to compensation for such damages under the aforementioned Agreement.

2. Except as provided in paragraph 3, the provisions of this Agreement do not apply to warships, auxiliary warships, or other vessels owned or operated by a state and used temporarily for non-commercial governmental purposes only.

3. Any contracting state may decide to apply this Agreement to its warships or other vessels described in paragraph 2, in which case it must notify the General Secretary of this, specifying the terms and conditions of such application.

4. With respect to vessels owned by a contracting state and used for commercial purposes, each state is subject to litigation in the jurisdiction specified in Article 9 and waives all defenses based on its status as a sovereign state.

When an incident occurs involving two or more ships resulting in pollution damage, the owners of all the concerned vessels shall bear joint and several liability for all damages that cannot be reasonably divided, unless they benefit from an exemption granted to them by Article 3.

Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the rights of the shipowner and the person or persons providing insurance or other financial guarantees to limit their liability under any applicable national or international law, such as the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976, as amended.

1. The registered owner of a ship registered in a Contracting State with a gross tonnage exceeding 1000 tons must subscribe to insurance or another financial guarantee, such as a guarantee from a bank or a similar financial institution, to cover their liability for pollution damages in an amount equivalent to the limits of liability established under the applicable national or international liability limits system, provided that in all cases the amount does not exceed the amount calculated in accordance with the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976, as amended.

2. A certificate must be issued for each ship confirming that it is covered by insurance or another valid financial guarantee in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, after the competent authority in the Contracting State determines that the requirements of paragraph 1 have been complied with. For a ship registered in a Contracting State, this certificate must be issued or endorsed by the competent authority of the State in which the ship is registered; for a ship not registered in a Contracting State, this certificate may be issued or endorsed by the competent authority of any Contracting State. This certificate must conform to the model set out in the Annex to this Agreement and must include the following details:

• (a) The name of the ship, its distinguishing number or letters, and its port of registration;

• (b) The name of the registered owner and their principal place of business;

• (c) The International Maritime Organization number for the identification of the ship;

• (d) The type of guarantee and its duration;

• (e) The name of the insured or any other person providing the guarantee and their principal place of business; and if applicable, the place of business where the insurance or guarantee was subscribed;

• (f) The period of validity of the certificate, which must not exceed the period of validity of the insurance or guarantee.

3.

• (a) A Contracting State may authorize an institution or organization it recognizes to issue the certificate referred to in paragraph 2. This institution or organization must notify that State of the issuance of each certificate. The Contracting State fully guarantees, in all cases, the completeness and accuracy of the certificate issued in this manner and undertakes to take the necessary measures to fulfill this obligation.

• (b) The Contracting State must notify the General Secretary of the following:

  • (i) The responsibilities and conditions of the authority delegated to the institution or organization it recognizes;

  • (ii) The withdrawal of this authority;

  • (iii) The date of effect of this authority or its withdrawal.

Any delegated authority shall not take effect until three months have elapsed from the date of notifying the General Secretary.

(c) The institution or organization authorized to issue certificates under this paragraph must be permitted to withdraw these certificates in the event of a breach of the conditions under which they were issued. The authority or organization must, in all cases, inform the State that issued the certificate on its behalf of the withdrawal of the certificate.

4. The certificate shall be issued in the official language or languages of the issuing State. If the language used is not Spanish, English, or French, the text must include a translation into one of these languages, and the official language of the State may not be used if the State decides so.

5. The certificate must be available on board the ship and a copy must be deposited with the authorities that maintain the file for the ship's registry, or if the ship is not registered in a Contracting State, with the authorities that issued or endorsed the certificate.

6. Insurance or another financial guarantee shall not be considered to meet the requirements of this article if it can terminate, for reasons other than the expiration of the insurance or guarantee period indicated in the certificate under paragraph 2 of this article, before three months have passed from the date the authorities referred to in paragraph 5 of this article are notified of the termination of the insurance and guarantee, unless the certificate has been returned to these authorities or a new certificate has been issued during the mentioned period. The previous provisions also apply to any amendment to the insurance or guarantee that causes it to fail to meet the requirements of this article.

7. The State in which the ship is registered shall determine, subject to the provisions of this article, the conditions for issuing and the validity of the certificate.

8. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as preventing a Contracting State from relying on information obtained from another State or from the organization or from other international organizations regarding the financial status of providers of insurance or financial guarantees for the purposes of this Agreement. In these cases, the Contracting State relying on such information shall not be relieved of its responsibility as the State that issued the certificate required by paragraph 2.

9. Certificates issued or endorsed under the authority of a Contracting State must be accepted by all other Contracting States for the purposes of this Agreement and shall be regarded by all parties as having the same effect as certificates issued or endorsed by them, even if such certificate is issued or endorsed for a ship not registered in a Contracting State. A Contracting State may request at any time to consult with the State that issued or endorsed the certificate if it believes that the insured or the guarantor named in the insurance certificate is financially unable to meet the obligations imposed by this Agreement.

10. Any claim for compensation for pollution damages may be brought directly against the insured or the other person providing the financial guarantee covering the registered owner's liability for pollution damages. In this case, the defendant may raise defenses (except for the bankruptcy of the ship owner or the liquidation of their assets) that the ship owner themselves may raise, including the limits of liability under Article 6. The defendant may also limit their liability to an amount equivalent to the amount of insurance or other financial guarantee required to be subscribed under paragraph 1, even if the ship owner is not entitled to limit their liability under Article 6. Additionally, the defendant may argue that the pollution damages resulted from intentional misconduct by the ship owner, but they may not raise any other defense that the ship owner would have been entitled to raise in a claim brought against them, and in all cases, the defendant may require the ship owner to join the action.

11. A Contracting State shall not allow, at any time, the operation of a ship flying its flag and subject to this article unless a certificate has been issued to it under paragraph 2 or paragraph 14.

12. Subject to the provisions of this article, each Contracting State shall ensure, under its national law, that any ship with a gross tonnage exceeding 1000 tons, regardless of where it is registered, entering or leaving a port located in its territory, or arriving at or leaving a maritime facility located in its territorial sea, is covered by insurance or another guarantee corresponding to the amount specified in paragraph 1.

13. A Contracting State, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 5, may notify the General Secretary that ships are not required, for the purposes of paragraph 12, to carry on board or to obtain the certificate required by paragraph 2 when entering or leaving ports located in its territory or arriving at or leaving maritime facilities located in its territory, provided that the Contracting State that issued the certificate required by paragraph 2 has notified the General Secretary that it maintains records in electronic form, accessible to all Contracting States, confirming the existence of the certificate and enabling Contracting States to fulfill their obligations under paragraph 12.

14. If a ship owned by a Contracting State is not covered by insurance or another financial guarantee, the relevant provisions of this article shall not apply, but the ship must carry a certificate issued by the competent authority in the State of registration of the ship stating that the ship is owned by that State and that the ship's liability is covered within the limits established in accordance with paragraph 1. This certificate must conform as closely as possible to the model set out in paragraph 2.

15. Any State may declare, at the time of ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession to this Agreement, or at any later time, that this article does not apply to ships whose operation is limited to the area referred to in Article 2(a)(i) of that State.

The rights to compensation established under this agreement shall be forfeited if a lawsuit is not filed pursuant to this agreement within three years from the date of the damage. However, in no case shall a lawsuit be filed after six years from the date of the incident that caused the damage. If this incident consists of a series of events, the six-year period shall be calculated from the date of the first event.

1. When an incident causes pollution damage in lands, including the territorial sea, or in an area referred to in Article 2(a)(ii) that is followed by one or more of the States Parties, or when preventive measures aimed at avoiding pollution damage or accepting it have been taken in these lands, which include the territorial sea, or in that area, claims for compensation may only be brought against the shipowner or their insurer or the other person providing the guarantee covering the liability of the shipowner before the courts of any of these States Parties.

2. Each defendant shall be granted a reasonable period before any claim brought under paragraph 1 is considered.

3. Each State Party ensures that its courts have the necessary jurisdiction to consider claims for compensation filed under this agreement.