International

Convention on Civil
Liability for Oil
Pollution Damage

The International Convention on Civil

Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1969,
renewed in 1992 and often referred to as
the CLC Convention, is an international
maritime treaty admistered by the
International Maritime Organization that
was adopted to ensure that adequate
compensation would be available where
oil pollution damage was caused by
maritime casualties involving oil tankers
(i.e. ships that carry oil as cargo).[1]

Liability
The convention introduces strict liability
for shipowners.[2]

In cases when the shipowner is deemed

guilty of fault for an instance of oil
pollution, the convention does not cap
liability.
When the shipowner is not at fault, the
convention caps liability at between 3
million special drawing rights (SDR) for a
ship of 5,000 GT to 59.7 million SDR for
ships over 140,000 GT.

The 2000 Amendments

Adoption: 18 October 2000

Entry into force: 1 November 2003

The amendments raised the

compensation limits by 50 percent
compared to the limits set in the 1992
Protocol, as follows: For a ship not
exceeding 5,000 gross tonnage, liability is
limited to 4.51 million SDR (US$5.78
million) For a ship 5,000 to 140,000 gross
tonnage: liability is limited to 4.51 million
SDR plus 631 SDR for each additional
gross tonne over 5,000 For a ship over
140,000 gross tonnage: liability is limited
to 89.77 million SDR

The HNS Convention to compensation for

damages occurring from spill of
dangerous goods is based on the same
legal framework.[3]

Insurance
If a ship carries more than 2000 tons of oil
in cargo, CLC requires shipowners to
maintain "insurance or other financial
security" sufficient to cover the maximum
liability for one oil spill[1]

Coverage
As of September 2016, 136 states,
representing 97.5 per cent of the world
fleet, are contracting parties to the CLC
Protocol of 1992, which amends the
original CLC Convention.[4] Bolivia, North
Korea, Honduras, and Lebanon—which are
generally flag of convenience states—have
not ratified the treaty.[5]

The United States of America is not a

signatory to CLC, despite considerable
involvement in its formulation. This is due
to significant nation legislation such as the
Oil Pollution Act, 1990, so signing the CLC
was deemed unnecessary.[6]

See also
International Convention on Civil
Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage
United Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea
International Convention on Liability and
Compensation for Damage in
Connection with the Carriage of
Hazardous and Noxious Substances by
Sea (HNS Convention)
 International Convention for the
Prevention of Pollution from Ships
(MARPOL)

References
1. International Maritime Organization on
the International Convention on Civil
Liability for Oil Pollution Damage
(CLC), 1969 [1]
2. R. Bhanu Krishna Kiran, "Liability and
Compensation for Oil Pollution
Damage: An examination of IMO
Convention" , NUJS LAW REVIEW,
January 2, 2015, Accessed on 1 July
2017
3. HNS Convention Legal Framework ,
archived from the original on 1
February 2014, retrieved 13 February
2014
4. International Maritime Organization –
Status of Conventions
5. MARISEC (2009). Shipping Industry
Flag State Performance Table (PDF).
London: Maritime International
Secretariat Services. pp. 1–2.
Retrieved 12 June 2010.
6. "LIABILITY AND COMPENSATION FOR
SHIP-SOURCE OIL POLLUTION" (PDF).
unctad.org. United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development. 31
 January 2012. pp. 20, 23. Retrieved
30 June 2017. "[p20:] in some cases,
substantial compensation may be
available under applicable national
law, as for instance in the case of the
United States Oil Pollution Act 1990
(OPA 1990). [and p23:] [Non-
signatories] includes notably the
United States, where, however, strong
national legislation to provide for
liability and compensation has been
enacted."

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