the body as gatekeepers and left the impression that the IMO was a club.
13 The
matter was referred to the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion, and
the court decided in favour of registered tonnage for the rule on composition,
handing the open registers a major victory.
14 To accommodate all interests, the
composition of the MSC would start to include all member states, and the practice
continues today in all committees. With the emergence of even more newly independent states in the 1960s, the IMO membership would increase exponentially.
In addition to the political change, the 1950s–1960s witnessed a quickening pace
of maritime technological change. The change was revolutionary: deployment of
radar for collision avoidance, refrigeration on board ships, ever larger cargo vessels
such as very large and ultra large crude carriers and large bulkers, containerization,
automatic identification system, among others. These technologies raised new issues
for ship construction, equipment and operations, requiring new standards for maritime safety. To cope with these changes, the IMO convened its first conference in
1960 on safety of life at sea, leading to the adoption of a fundamentally revised
maritime safety convention current at that time and since the earlier iterations of
1914 and 1948. Further amendments in the 1960s and 1970s concerned fire safety
measures, life-saving appliances and radiotelegraphy watches. These efforts
responded to the lessons learnt from major disasters and in effect continued a
trend of event-driven regulation since the first safety of life at sea convention in
1914 which was itself triggered by the loss of the Titanic.
15
In 1967, the casualty of the Torrey Canyon on the coast of the United Kingdom’s
Southwest Atlantic produced the first ever massive oil spill from a supertanker. It
resulted in immense environmental damage and revealed the deficiencies in international law concerning the state’s powers to protect its coastal interests, insufficient
regulation of vessel-source pollution and liability and compensation for oil spill
damage. The casualty produced a series of major legal responses. The International
Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution
Casualties, 1969,
16 provided the authority necessary for a coastal state to intervene
with respect to foreign ships on the high seas to pre-empt potential threats posed by
ships in similar situations. The International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil
Pollution Damage, 1969
17 and the Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation of Oil Pollution Damage, 1971 (IOPC Fund)
18
established the first ever system of civil liability and compensation for persistent
13 Gold (1981), p. 260.
14 Constitution of the Maritime Safety Committee of the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative
Organization (Advisory Opinion) 1960 ICJ Reports 150. See Ademuni-Odeke (2007), pp. 63–90.
15 Convention on Safety of Life at Sea, 1914.
16 International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution
Casualties, 1969, followed by Protocol Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in cases of Marine
Pollution by Substances other than Oil, 1973.
17 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1969.
18 International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil
Pollution Damage, 1971.
Governance of International Shipping in the Era of Decarbonisation: New. . .
101
13 The
matter was referred to the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion, and
the court decided in favour of registered tonnage for the rule on composition,
handing the open registers a major victory.
14 To accommodate all interests, the
composition of the MSC would start to include all member states, and the practice
continues today in all committees. With the emergence of even more newly independent states in the 1960s, the IMO membership would increase exponentially.
In addition to the political change, the 1950s–1960s witnessed a quickening pace
of maritime technological change. The change was revolutionary: deployment of
radar for collision avoidance, refrigeration on board ships, ever larger cargo vessels
such as very large and ultra large crude carriers and large bulkers, containerization,
automatic identification system, among others. These technologies raised new issues
for ship construction, equipment and operations, requiring new standards for maritime safety. To cope with these changes, the IMO convened its first conference in
1960 on safety of life at sea, leading to the adoption of a fundamentally revised
maritime safety convention current at that time and since the earlier iterations of
1914 and 1948. Further amendments in the 1960s and 1970s concerned fire safety
measures, life-saving appliances and radiotelegraphy watches. These efforts
responded to the lessons learnt from major disasters and in effect continued a
trend of event-driven regulation since the first safety of life at sea convention in
1914 which was itself triggered by the loss of the Titanic.
15
In 1967, the casualty of the Torrey Canyon on the coast of the United Kingdom’s
Southwest Atlantic produced the first ever massive oil spill from a supertanker. It
resulted in immense environmental damage and revealed the deficiencies in international law concerning the state’s powers to protect its coastal interests, insufficient
regulation of vessel-source pollution and liability and compensation for oil spill
damage. The casualty produced a series of major legal responses. The International
Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution
Casualties, 1969,
16 provided the authority necessary for a coastal state to intervene
with respect to foreign ships on the high seas to pre-empt potential threats posed by
ships in similar situations. The International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil
Pollution Damage, 1969
17 and the Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation of Oil Pollution Damage, 1971 (IOPC Fund)
18
established the first ever system of civil liability and compensation for persistent
13 Gold (1981), p. 260.
14 Constitution of the Maritime Safety Committee of the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative
Organization (Advisory Opinion) 1960 ICJ Reports 150. See Ademuni-Odeke (2007), pp. 63–90.
15 Convention on Safety of Life at Sea, 1914.
16 International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution
Casualties, 1969, followed by Protocol Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in cases of Marine
Pollution by Substances other than Oil, 1973.
17 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1969.
18 International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil
Pollution Damage, 1971.
Governance of International Shipping in the Era of Decarbonisation: New. . .
101