Belgium Anatomy of a US oil spill

摘要

We were delighted that Tony Paulson, claims director of the West of England P&I Club, was willing to take the floor at the Antwerp Maritime Academy on 23 March in a joint NI Belgian Branch and West of England event. Tony has over 20 years of experience within the club, managing major oil spills both in the United States and elsewhere. He was the ideal person to address the issue of US oil pollution and incident response plans. While an oil spill is never a pleasant experience, this is particularly so in the United States. The legislation governing oil pollution is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), introduced in the wake of significant pollution damage from the Exxon Valdez spill in 1990. Unlike the CLC convention which is adhered to by much of the rest of the world, and which applies to tankers only, OPA 90 applies to all vessel tvnes.