185 



Marine Pollution which convenes in October of this j-ear under the 

 auspices of I^^ICO, the arm of the United Nations which is respon- 

 sible for maritime matters. 



The basic goal of this conference is to develop and adopt a conven- 

 tion that will lead to the end of all intentional discharges and mini- 

 mize the possibilitv of accidental discharges resulting from collisions 

 and strandings. Over the past 3 years of preparations for the con- 

 ference, a draft convention has been developed and is currently being 

 intensively reviewed by Government, industry, and en\ironmental 

 groups within the United States and in other countries throughout, 

 the world. 



All of our members support the goals of the conference, Mr. Cliair- 

 man, and we have also advised the Coast Guard that we are in agree- 

 ment on those general principles, including the requirements for man- 

 datory seirreffated ballast systems, which are contained in the currents 

 draft. 



The second event of major importance is the law of the Sea Con- 

 ference, which convenes briefly for a procedural session in Xovember^ 

 and then for an 8-week substantive session in July of 1974. 



Among the major items on the tentative agenda, three are of partic- 

 ular interest to the maritime industry, namely, the breadtli of the 

 territorial sea, the use of international straits, and the protection of 

 the marine enviromnent. 



Hopefully, the Conference will be able to reach agreement on these 

 issues, and to incorporate them into one or more international con- 

 ventions. Here too, we have advised the State Department on nu- 

 merous occasions of our industry's support for the development of 

 a stringent, uniform legal regime which will govern the use of the 

 oceans by vessel operators and by all other interests concerned. 



I mention these two important activities to illustrate a particular 

 problem which the U.S. flag steamship industry faces today. While 

 much of the rest of the world moves forward more or less in step to 

 seek international solutions to the j)roblems of marine ])olhition, uni- 

 lateral measures continue to be taken in the United States whicli 

 liamper our industry, which result in additional costs tliat are ulti- 

 mately passed on to the consumer, and which most regrettably have 

 little, if any, beneficial environmental impact. 



A case in point is the Supreme Court's recent decision upholding the 

 State of Florida's Oil Pollution Prevention and Control Act. Acting 

 mider a loophole in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Florida 

 adopted an act in 1970 which imposes unlimited and absolute liability 

 on all vessels serving that State for cleanup costs and consequential 

 damages to third parties and contains related certification of financial 

 responsibility requirements. Xow that the Supi'eme Court has made its 

 decision, a number of othei" tidewater States seem likely to enact simi- 

 lar statutes. 



The impact of all this on the environment will be nil, in my opinion. 

 Cleanup costs are already the responsibility of the Federal Govern- 

 ment. No insurance company can possibly provide unlimited, absolute 

 liability for all consequential damages and so some operators may well 

 decide to avoid se^^^ng States with such a statute, since the risk is too 

 great. And costs associated with the certificate provisions, which 

 merely duplicate Federal requirements, w411 be passed on to the users. 



