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Amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil of 12 May 1954
(London, 11 April 1962)
The following are the amendments to the above-mentioned Convention:
1. The existing text of Article I of the Convention is replaced by the following:
Article I
(1) For the purposes of the present Convention, the following expressions shall (unless the context otherwise requires) have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:
"The Bureau" has the meaning assigned to it by Article XXI;
"Discharge" in relation to oil or to oily mixture means any discharge or escape howsoever caused;
"Heavy diesel oil" means marine diesel oil, other than those distillates of which more than 50 per cent by volume distils at a temperature not exceeding 340deg. C, when tested by ASTM Standard Method D.86/59;
"Mile" means a nautical mile of 6,080 feet or 1,852 metres;
"Oil" means crude oil, fuel oil, heavy diesel oil and lubricating oil, and "oily" shall be construed accordingly;
"Oily mixture" means a mixture with an oil content of 100 parts or more in 1,000,000 parts of the mixture;
"Organization" means the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization;
"Ship" means any sea-going vessel of any type whatsoever, including floating craft, whether self-propelled or towed by another vessel, making a sea voyage; and "tanker" means a ship in which the greater part of the cargo space is constructed or adapted for the carriage of liquid cargoes in bulk and which is not, for the time being, carrying a cargo other than oil in that part of its cargo space.
(2) For the purposes of the present Convention, the territories of a Contracting Government mean the territory of the country of which it is the Government and any other territory for the international relations of which it is responsible and to which the Convention shall have been extended under Article XVIII.
2. The existing text of Article II of the Convention is replaced by the following:
Article II
(1) The present Convention shall apply to ships registered in any of the territories of a Contracting Government and to unregistered ships having the nationality of a Contracting Party, except:
(a) tankers of under 150 tons gross tonnage and other ships of under 500 tons gross tonnage, provided that each Contracting Government will take the necessary steps, so far as is reasonable and practicable, to apply the requirements of the Convention to such ships also, having regard to their size, service and the type of fuel used for their propulsion;
(b) ships for the time being engaged in the whaling industry when actually employed on whaling operations;
(c) ships for the time being navigating the Great Lakes of North America and their connecting and tributary waters as far east as the lower exit of St. Lambert Lock at Montreal in the Province of Quebec, Canada;
(d) naval ships and ships for the time being used as naval auxiliaries.
(2) Each Contracting Government undertakes to adopt appropriate measures ensuring that requirements equivalent to those of the present Convention are, so far as is reasonable and practicable, applied to the ships referred to in subparagraph (d) of paragraph (1) of this Article.
3. The existing text of Article III of the Convention is replaced by the following:
Article III
Subject to the provisions of Articles IV and V:
(a) the discharge from a tanker to which the present Convention applies, within any of the prohibited zones referred to in Annex A to the Convention, of oil or oily mixtures shall be prohibited;
(b) the discharge from a ship to which the present Convention applies, other than a tanker, of oil or oily mixture shall be made as far as practicable from land. As from a date three years after that on which the Convention comes into force for the relevant territory in respect of the ship in accordance with paragraph (1) of Article II, subparagraph (a) of this Article shall apply to a ship other than a tanker, except that the discharge of oil or of oily mixture from such a ship shall not be prohibited when the ship is proceeding to a port not provided with such facilities for ships other than tankers as are referred to in Article VIII;
(c) the discharge from a ship of 20,000 tons gross tonnage or more, to which the present Convention applies and for which the building contract is placed on or after the date on which this provision comes into force, of oil or oily mixture shall be prohibited. However, if, in the opinion of the master, special circumstances make it neither reasonable nor practicable to retain the oil or oily mixture on board, it may be discharged outside the prohibited zones referred to in Annex A to the Convention. The reasons for such discharge shall be reported to the Contracting Government of the relevant territory in respect of the ship in accordance with paragraph (1) of Article II. Full details of such discharges shall be reported to the Organization at least every twelve months by Contracting Governments.
4. The existing text of Article IV of the Convention is replaced by the following:
Article IV
Article III shall not apply to:
(a) the discharge of oil or of oily mixture from a ship for the purpose of securing the safety of a ship, preventing damage to a ship or cargo, or saving life at sea;
(b) the escape of oil or of oily mixture resulting from damage to a ship or unavoidable leakage, if all reasonable precautions have been taken after the occurrence of the damage or discovery of the leakage for the purpose of preventing or minimizing the escape;
(c) the discharge of residue arising from the purification or clarification of fuel oil or lubricating oil, provided that such discharge is made as far from land as is practicable.
5. The existing text of Article V of the Convention is replaced by the following:
Article V
Article III shall not apply to the discharge from the bilges of a ship:
(a) during the period of twelve months following the date on which the present Convention comes into force for the relevant territory in respect of the ship in accordance with paragraph (1) of Article II, of oily mixture;
(b) after the expiration of such period, of oily mixture containing no oil other than lubricating oil which has drained or leaked from machinery spaces.
6. The existing text of Article VI of the Convention is replaced by the following:
Article VI
(1) Any contravention of Articles III and IX shall be an offence punishable under the law of the relevant territory in respect of the ship in accordance with paragraph (1) of Article II.
(2) The penalties which may be imposed under the law of any of the territories of a Contracting Government in respect of the unlawful discharge from a ship of oil or oily mixture outside the territorial sea of that territory shall be adequate in severity to discourage any such unlawful discharge and shall not be less than the penalties which may be imposed under the law of that territory in respect of the same infringements within the territorial sea.
(3) Each Contracting Government shall report to the Organization the penalties actually imposed for each infringement.
7. The existing text of Article VII of the Convention is replaced by the following:
Article VII
(1) As from a date twelve months after the present Convention comes into force for the relevant territory in respect of a ship in accordance with paragraph (1) of Article II, such a ship shall be required to be so fitted as to prevent, so far as reasonable and practicable, the escape of fuel oil or heavy diesel oil into bilges, unless effective means are provided to ensure that the oil in the bilges is not discharged in contravention of this Convention.
(2) Carrying water ballast in oil fuel tanks shall be avoided if possible.
8. The existing text of Article VIII of the Convention is replaced by the following:
Article VIII
(1) Each Contracting Government shall take all appropriate steps to promote the provision of facilities as follows:
(a) according to the needs of ships using them, ports shall be provided with facilities adequate for the reception, without causing undue delay to ships, of such residues and oily mixtures as would remain for disposal from ships other than tankers if the bulk of the water had been separated from the mixture;
(b) oil loading terminals shall be provided with facilities adequate for the reception of such residues and oily mixtures as would similarly remain for disposal by tankers;
(c) ship repair ports shall be provided with facilities adequate for the reception of such residues and oily mixtures as would similarly remain for disposal by all ships entering for repairs.
(2) Each Contracting Government shall determine which are the ports and oil loading terminals in its territories suitable for the purposes of subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph (1) of this Article.
(3) As regards paragraph (1) of this Article, each Contracting Government shall report to the Organization, for transmission to the Contracting Government concerned, all cases where the facilities are alleged to be inadequate.
9. The existing text of Article IX of the Convention is replaced by the following:
Article IX
(1) Of the ships to which the present Convention applies, every ship which uses oil fuel and every tanker shall be provided with an oil record book, whether as part of the ship's official log book or otherwise, in the form specified in Annex B to the Convention.
(2) The oil record book shall be completed on each occasion, whenever any of the following operations takes place in the ship:
(a) ballasting of and discharge of ballast from cargo tanks of tankers;
(b) cleaning of cargo tanks of tankers;
(c) settling in slop tanks and discharge of water from tankers;
(d) disposal from tankers of oily residues from slop tanks or other sources;
(e) ballasting, or cleaning during voyage, of bunker fuel tanks of ships other than tankers;
(f) disposal from ships other than tankers of oily residues from bunker fuel tanks or other sources;
(g) accidental or other exceptional discharges or escapes of oil from tankers or ships other than tankers.
In the event of such discharge or escape of oil or oily mixture as is referred to in subparagraph (c) of Article III or in Article IV, a statement shall be made in the oil record book of the circumstances of, and reason for, the discharge or escape.
(3) Each operation described in paragraph (2) of this Article shall be fully recorded without delay in the oil record book so that all the entries in the book appropriate to that operation are completed. Each page of the book shall be signed by the officer or officers in charge of the operations concerned and, when the ship is manned, by the master of the ship. The written entries in the oil record book shall be in an official language of the relevant territory in respect of the ship in accordance with paragraph (1) of Article II, or in English or French.
(4) Oil record books shall be kept in such a place as to be readily available for inspection at all reasonable times, and, except in the case of unmanned ships under tow, shall be kept on board the ship. They shall be preserved for a period of two years after the last entry has been made.
(5) The competent authorities of any of the territories of a Contracting Government may inspect on board any ship to which the present Convention applies, while within a port in that territory, the oil record book required to be carried in the ship in compliance with the provisions of this Article, and may make a true copy of any entry in that book and may require the master of the ship to certify that the copy is a true copy of such entry. Any copy so made which purports to have been certified by the master of the ship as a true copy of an entry in the ship's oil record book shall be made admissible in any judicial proceedings as evidence of the facts stated in the entry. Any action by the competent authorities under this paragraph shall be taken as expeditiously as possible and the ship shall not be delayed.
10. The existing text of Article X of the Convention is replaced by the following:
Article X
(1) Any Contracting Government may furnish to the Government of the relevant territory in respect of the ship in accordance with paragraph (1) of Article II particulars in writing of evidence that any provision of the present Convention has been contravened in respect of that ship, wheresoever the alleged contravention may have taken place. If it is practicable to do so, the competent authorities of the former Government shall notify the master of the ship of the alleged contravention.
(2) Upon receiving such particulars, the Government so informed shall investigate the matter, and may request the other Government to furnish further or better particulars of the alleged contravention. If the Government so informed is satisfied that sufficient evidence is available in the form required by its law to enable proceedings against the owner or master of the ship to be taken in respect of the alleged contravention, it shall cause such proceedings to be taken as soon as possible, and shall inform the other Government and the Organization of the result of such proceedings.
11. The existing text of Article XIV of the Convention is replaced by the following:
Article XIV
(1) The present Convention shall remain open for signature for three months from this day's date and shall thereafter remain open for acceptance.
(2) Subject to Article XV, the Governments of States Members of the United Nations or of any of the Specialized Agencies 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 acceptance;
(b) signature subject to acceptance followed by acceptance; or
(c) acceptance.
(3) Acceptance shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of acceptance with the Bureau, which shall inform all Governments that have already signed or accepted the present Convention of each signature and deposit of an acceptance and of the date of such signature or deposit.
12. The existing text of Article XVI of the Convention is replaced by the following:
Article XVI
(1) (a) The present Convention may be amended by unanimous agreement between the Contracting Governments.
(b) Upon request of any Contracting Government a proposed amendment shall be communicated by the Organization to all Contracting Governments for consideration and acceptance under this paragraph.
(2) (a) An amendment to the present Convention may be proposed to the Organization at any time by any Contracting Government, and such proposal if adopted by a two-thirds majority of the Assembly of the Organization upon recommendation adopted by a two-thirds majority of the Maritime Safety Committee of the Organization shall be communicated by the Organization to all Contracting Governments for their acceptance.
(b) Any such recommendation by the Maritime Safety Committee shall be communicated by the Organization to all Contracting Governments for their consideration at least six months before it is considered by the Assembly.
(3) (a) A conference of Governments to consider amendments to the present Convention proposed by any Contracting Government shall at any time be convened by the Organization upon the request of one-third of the Contracting Governments.
(b) Every amendment adopted by such conference by a two-thirds majority of the Contracting Governments shall be communicated by the Organization to all Contracting Governments for their acceptance.
(4) Any amendment communicated to Contracting Governments for their acceptance under paragraph (2) or (3) of this Article shall come into force for all Contracting Governments, except those which before it comes into force make a declaration that they do not accept the amendment, twelve months after the date on which the amendment is accepted by two-thirds of the Contracting Governments.
(5) The Assembly, by a two-thirds majority vote, including two-thirds of the Governments represented on the Maritime Safety Committee, and subject to the concurrence of two-thirds of the Contracting Governments to the present Convention, or a conference convened under paragraph (3) of this Article by a two-thirds majority vote, may determine at the time of its adoption that the amendment is of such an important nature that any Contracting Government which makes a declaration under paragraph (4) of this Article and which does not accept the amendment within a period of twelve months after the amendment comes into force, shall, upon the expiry of this period, cease to be a party to the present Convention.
(6) The Organization shall inform all Contracting Governments of any amendments which come into force under this Article, together with the date on which such amendments shall come into force.
(7) Any acceptance or declaration under this Article shall be made by a notification in writing to the Organization which shall notify all Contracting Governments of the receipt of the acceptance or declaration.
13. The existing text of Article XVIII of the Convention is replaced by the following:
Article XVIII
(1) (a) The United Nations in cases where they are the administering authority for a territory or any Contracting Government responsible for the international relations of a territory shall as soon as possible consult with such territory in an endeavour to extend the present Convention to that territory and may at any time by notification in writing given to the Bureau declare that the Convention shall extend to such territory.
(b) The present Convention shall from the date of the receipt of the notification or from such other date as may be specified in the notification extend to the territory named therein.
(2) (a) The United Nations in cases where they are the administering authority for a territory or any Contracting Government which has made a declaration under paragraph (1) of this Article, at any time after the expiry of a period of five years from the date on which the present Convention has been so extended to any territory, may by a notification in writing given to the Bureau after consultation with such territory declare that the Convention shall cease to extend to any such territory named in the notification.
(b) The present Convention shall cease to extend to any territory mentioned in such notification one year, or such longer period as may be specified therein, after the date of receipt of the notification by the Bureau.
(3) The Bureau shall inform all the Contracting Governments of the extension of the present Convention to any territory under paragraph (1) of this Article, and of the termination of any such extension under the provisions of paragraph (2) stating in each case the date from which the Convention has been or will cease to be so extended.
14. The existing text of Annex A to the Convention is replaced by the following:
ANNEX A
PROHIBITED ZONES
(1) All sea areas within 50 miles from the nearest land shall be prohibited zones.
For the purposes of this Annex, the term "from the nearest land" means "from the base-line from which the territorial sea of the territory in question is established in accordance with the Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, 1958".
(2) The following sea areas, insofar as they extend more than 50 miles from the nearest land, shall also be prohibited zones:
(a) Pacific Ocean
The Canadian Western Zone
The Canadian Western Zone shall extend for a distance of 100 miles from the nearest land along the west coast of Canada.
(b) North Atlantic Ocean, North Sea and Baltic Sea
(i) The North-West Atlantic Zone
The North-West Atlantic Zone shall comprise the sea areas within a line drawn from latitude 38deg. 47' north, longitude 73deg. 43' west to latitude 39deg. 58' north, longitude 68deg. 34' west thence to latitude 42deg. 05' north, longitude 64deg. 37' west thence along the east coast of Canada at a distance of 100 miles from the nearest land.
(ii) The Icelandic Zone
The Icelandic Zone shall extend for a distance of 100 miles from the nearest land along the coast of Iceland.
(iii) The Norwegian, North Sea and Baltic Sea Zone
The Norwegian, North Sea and Baltic Sea Zone shall extend for a distance of 100 miles from the nearest land along the coast of Norway and shall include the whole of the North Sea and of the Baltic Sea and its Gulfs.
(iv) The North-East Atlantic Zone
The North-East Atlantic Zone shall include the sea areas within a line drawn between the following positions:
Latitude Longitude
62deg. north 2deg. east,
64deg. north 00deg.
64deg. north 10deg. west,
60deg. north 14deg. west;
54deg. 30' north 30deg. west,
53deg. north 40deg. west;
44deg. 20' north 40deg. west,
44deg. 20' north 30deg. west;
46deg. north 20deg. west,
thence towards Cape Finisterre at the intersection of the 50-mile limit.
(v) The Spanish Zone
The Spanish Zone shall comprise the areas of the Atlantic Ocean within a distance of 100 miles from the nearest land along the coast of Spain and shall come into operation on the date on which the present Convention shall have come into force in respect of Spain.
(vi) The Portuguese Zone
The Portuguese Zone shall comprise the area of the Atlantic Ocean within a distance of 100 miles from the nearest land along the coast of Portugal and shall come into operation on the date on which the present Convention shall have come into force in respect of Portugal.
(c) Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas
The Mediterranean and Adriatic Zone
The Mediterranean and Adriatic Zone shall comprise the sea areas within a distance of 100 miles from the nearest land along the coasts of each of the territories bordering the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas and shall come into operation in respect of each territory on the date on which the present Convention shall have come into force in respect of that territory.
(d) Black Sea and Sea of Azov
The Black Sea and Sea of Azov Zone
The Black Sea and Sea of Azov Zone shall comprise the sea areas within a distance of 100 miles from the nearest land along the coasts of each of the territories bordering the Black Sea and Sea of Azov and shall come into operation in respect of each territory on the date on which the present Convention shall have come into force in respect of that territory.
Provided that the whole of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov shall become a prohibited zone on the date on which the present Convention shall have come into force in respect of Roumania and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
(e) Red Sea
The Red Sea Zone
The Red Sea Zone shall comprise the sea areas within a distance of 100 miles from the nearest land along the coasts of each of the territories bordering the Red Sea and shall come into operation in respect of each territory on the date on which the present Convention shall have come into force in respect of that territory.
(f) Persian Gulf
(i) The Kuwait Zone
The Kuwait Zone shall comprise the sea area within a distance of 100 miles from the nearest land along the coast of Kuwait.
(ii) The Saudi Arabian Zone
The Saudi Arabian Zone shall comprise the sea area within a distance of 100 miles from the nearest land along the coast of Saudi Arabia and shall come into operation on the date on which the present Convention shall have come into force in respect of Saudi Arabia.
(g) Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean
(i) The Arabian Sea Zone
The Arabian Sea Zone shall comprise the sea areas within a line drawn between the following positions:
Latitude Longitude
23deg. 33' north 68deg. 20' east,
23deg. 33' north 67deg. 30' east;
22deg. north 68deg. east,
20deg. north 70deg. east;
18deg. 55' north 72deg. east,
15deg. 40' north 72deg. 42' east;
8deg. 30' north 75deg. 48' east,
7deg. 10' north 76deg. 50' east;
7deg. 10' north 78deg. 14' east,
9deg. 06' north 79deg. 32' east,
and shall come into operation on the date on which the present Convention shall have come into force in respect of India.
(ii) The Bay of Bengal Coastal Zone
The Bay of Bengal Coastal Zone shall comprise the sea areas between the nearest land and a line drawn between the following positions:
Latitude Longitude
10deg. 15' north 80deg. 50' east,
14deg. 30' north 81deg. 38' east;
20deg. 20' north 88deg. 10' east,
20deg. 20' north 80deg. east,
and shall come into operation on the date on which the present Convention shall have into force in respect of India.
(iii) The Malagasy Zone
The Malagasy Zone shall comprise the sea area within a distance of 100 miles from the nearest land along the coast of Madagascar west of the meridians of Cape d'Ambre in the north and of Cape Ste. Marie in the south and within a distance of 150 miles from the nearest land along the coast of Madagascar east of these meridians, and shall come into operation when the present Convention shall have come into force in respect of Madagascar.
(h) Australia
The Australian Zone
The Australian Zone shall comprise the sea area within a distance of 150 miles from the nearest land along the coasts of Australia, except off the north and west coasts of the Australian mainland between the point opposite Thursday Island and the point on the west coast at 20deg. south latitude.
(3) (a) Any Contracting Government may propose:
(i) the reduction of any zone off the coast of any of its territories;
(ii) the extension of any such zone to a maximum of 100 miles from the nearest land along any such coast,
by making a declaration to that effect and the reduction or extension shall come into force after the expiration of a period of six months after the declaration has been made, unless any one of the Contracting Governments shall have made a declaration not less than two months before the expiration of that period to the effect that it considers that the destruction of birds and adverse effects on fish and the marine organisms on which they feed would be likely to occur or that its interests are affected either by reason of the proximity of its coasts or by reason of its ships trading in the area, and that it does not accept the reduction or extension, as the case may be.
(b) Any declaration under this paragraph shall be made by a notification in writing to the Organization which shall notify all Contracting Governments of the receipt of the declaration.
(4) The Organization shall prepare a set of charts indicating the extent of the prohibited zones in force in accordance with paragraph (2) of this Annex and shall issue amendments thereto as may be necessary.
15. The following changes to be made in Annex B to the Convention:
1. Throughout the Annex replace the words "Identity numbers of tank(s)" by "Identity numbers of tank(s) concerned".
2. In Form I(a) replace the words "Place or position of ship" by "Place or position of ship at time of discharge".
3. In Form I(d) and Form II(a) and (b) replace the words "Place or position of ship" by "Place or position of ship at time of disposal".
4. In Form I(c) add a new line 17 as follows: "17. Approximate quantities of water discharged" and re-number lines in (d) 18 to 20.
5. Delete the words "from ship" in the headings of Forms I(d) and II(b).
6. In Form III replace the words "Place or position of ship" by "Place or position of ship at time of occurrence".
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