OIL POLLUTION ACT 1990

Applicable for the types of vessels

• All vessels carrying more than 10.000

gallons of oil irrespective whether as
cargo or bunker
• Within 200 nm of US waters including
Guam, Hawaii, Alaska and San Juan
• main issue for the introduction of the
act : To prevent oil spills in US waters
 OPA-90
different from other international oil legislation

• is ...United States Legislation

• Responsibility for salvage asssistance
• Unlimited responsibility
• Responsibility for cleaning up
• safety of ship and crew
• notification requirements of any spill, or
threat of a spill
UNLIMITED RESPONSABILITY

• Wilful Misconduct
• Gross Negiligence
• Violation of Federal Safety
REPORT SHALL BE MADE ...IF

• Safe navigation is affected

• Safety of the vessel is affected
• Safe cargo handling is affected
OIL POLLUTION ACT 1990

 Types of Vessels shall carry an approved VRP

= Tanker vessels carrying oil

 Function an OSC = On the Scene Co-

ordinator

 Shipboard Emergency Drills must be carried

out at least = once a month
QI (QUALIFIED INDIVIDU)

 QI (Qualified Individu) shall notify the

cleaning up contractor
 QI is an authorised individual, situated in
the US, and contracted by the owner or
operator of the vessel
 notify the cleaning up contractor
UNLIMITED RESPONSABILITY

• Wilful Misconduct
• Gross Negiligence
• violation of Federal Safety
WHAT IS .....
• VRP = Vessel Response Plan
• OSRO = Oil Spill Response Organisation

• Under OPA 90 regulations, oils have been divided into

___5__ different groups based upon their environmental
persistence.
• Under OPA 90 shipboard pollution containers should be capable of recovering
at least __12___ barrels of oily waste.
VRP (VESSEL RESPONSE PLAN)

 A vessel response plan (VRP) is a document that

outlines what the vessel will do in the case of an
offshore spill
 VRPs are required by the United States Coast
Guard for maritime operators that are carrying
certain quantities of chemicals and/or refined
petroleum products
 Not all vessels are required to have a VRP,
depending on what type of vessel operate, the
size of the vessel, and how much oil is on board.