They establish certain conditions for the discharge 
of oil and oily mixtures. They also require that pro- 
vision be made in ports for reception facilities for 
residues and oily wastes from ships and that an oil 
record book be kept during any transfer of oil or 
oil-mixture. Competent authorities of a contracting 
state are authorized to board a vessel for the purpose 
of inspecting the oil record book, but under the 
convention, enforcement remains with the flag state. 
The Torrey Canyon disaster prompted two 1969 
Brussels conventions dealing entirely with oil pollu- 
tion from ships. First, the International Convention 
Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases 
of Oil Pollution Casualties (known as the Interven- 
tion Convention of 1969) was entered into force 
May 6, 1975. This convention allows signatory states 
to resort to self-help in emergencies to protect their 
own interests from oil pollution damage. This is the 
first international convention to apply the principle 
of self-help on the high seas for the purpose of pro- 
tecting the marine environment. The second Brussels 
convention dealt with civil liability. The International 
Convention on Civil Liability for Ocean Pollution 
Damage (known as the Liability Convention of 1969, 
entered into force on June 19, 1975) establishes 
rules and procedures for determining liability and 
providing compensation for damage caused by oil 
pollution from ships. This convention is primarily 
remedial rather than preventive, applying only to oil 
pollution after it causes damage to a limited area 
of the ocean.”° 
The Convention on Marine Pollution by Dumping 
of Wastes and Other Matters of 1972 (entered into 
force on August 30, 1975) has responsibility for ad- 
ministration centered in the Inter-Governmental Mari- 
time Consultative Organization. The convention is 
aimed at achieving uniformity in regulations con- 
trolling the disposal of waste at sea among the sig- 
natory nations. The regulation of ocean dumping 
within the terms of the convention applies to about 
10 percent of the pollutants entering the ocean. As 
small as this fraction is, it is a positive step toward 
the goal of protecting the global marine resource.”! 
The International Convention for the Prevention 
of Pollution from Ships of 1973 was adopted in 
November 1973, and reduced further the maximum 
permissible quantity of oil- that may be discharged 
by new oil tankers. The 1973 Convention (1973 
MARPOV) will supercede the 1954 International 
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the 
Sea by Oil, as amended, 1 year after ratification by 
15 countries representing half of the world’s mer- 
chant shipping. It contains provisions aimed at elim- 
inating the intentional pollution of the marine 
environment by harmful substances and minimizing 
the accidental discharge of such substances. This 
2 Ibid., p. 39. 
2 Ibid., p. 41. 
Convention will require that ships be designed and 
equipped for pollution-free operations and that ade- 
quate reception facilities be provided in ports for 
ship-generated wastes. The flag state is required to 
prosecute all violations of its vessels wherever they 
occur. In addition, the port state is authorized to 
perform inspections of any vessel entering its port 
to ascertain that the condition of the ship corre- 
sponds with the particulars of the international oil 
pollution prevention certificate. 
Perhaps the most dramatic example. of interna- 
tional cooperation on behalf of marine environmental 
protection is the successful conclusion of the Inter- 
national Conference on Tanker Safety and Pollution 
Prevention (1978 TSPP) held in London in Febru- 
ary 1978. Precipitated by the Presidential Initiative 
of March 17, 1977, the international community, 
under the aegis of IMCO, has agreed to an Inter- 
national Plenipotentiary Conference for the purpose 
of developing acceptable international standards in 
response to the U.S. initiatives. This conference suc- 
cessfully adopted a composite package of vessel 
design and equipment requirements in the form of 
Protocols to the 1973 Marine Pollution Convention 
and to the 1974 Safety of Life at Sea Convention. 
Their positions and the results of the Conference 
will have worldwide impact. 
In addition to the international conventions and 
agreements that are now in force, the Third United 
Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UN- 
CLOS), which has been underway since 1973, is 
seeking to arrive at a consensus on treaty provisions 
to protect the marine environment. The Informal 
Composite Negotiating Text of 1977 contains the 
following provisions: ** 
e establishes the unqualified general rule that “States 
have the obligation to protect and preserve the 
Marine environment;” 
e declares a positive legal duty not to cause damage 
by pollution to other states and their environment; 
@ establishes a new duty to give notice of imminent 
danger by pollution to other states and organi- 
zations and requires that states maintain surveil- 
lance over activities they engage in or permit; 
© creates a duty to monitor the marine environment 
generally for pollution, and establishes an environ- 
mental assessment procedure patterned after the 
environmental impact statement procedures of the 
United States; 
© recognizes land-based sources of pollution as be- 
ing significant sources of marine pollution and 
adds them to the international agenda; 
e establishes an “International Seabed Authority” 
to administer seabed mining under the treaty and 
22 U.S. Department of State, Office of Law of the Sea Negotia- 
tions. Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, 
Informal Composite Negotiating Text. Washington, D.C., July 
1977, Part XII. 
VI-7 
