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M. Vespe et al.
Following the detection of a spill, the major issue is the prosecution of the
polluter, but two main principles co-exist: the Nationality of the ship and the
Geographical position of the ship. The principle of the Nationality of the ship is
also defined as principle of jurisdiction of the Flag State. On the other hand, the
possibility to apply the jurisdiction relevant for the position of the ship could concern: the jurisdiction of the State where the ship is sailing (principle of Coastal State)
or the jurisdiction of the port where the ship is in (principle of Port State).
There are two fundamental instruments available to the international community
for taking action against the perpetrators of illegal acts of marine pollution:
• MARPOL 73/78 Convention;
• 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
MARPOL 73/78 does not deviate from the exclusive jurisdiction of the Flag
State. On the other side, UNCLOS enlarges the jurisdiction of the Coastal States
in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), in addition to the sovereign rights of the
territorial sea. UNCLOS provisions break through the traditional supremacy of the
jurisdiction of the Flag State in respect of discharge violations in areas outside the
jurisdiction of a Coastal State: when a ship is voluntarily within a port, the Port State
is granted extensive judicial powers in respect of a discharge violation committed
by that ship outside its internal waters, territorial sea or EEZ. The provisions of
UNCLOS concerning this universal Port State jurisdiction represent a key factor to
the successful prosecution of the polluters.
Also, the European Union has taken specific actions to strongly combat shipsource pollution through a system of sanctions in case of intentional acts or serious
negligence. Directive 2005/35/EC of 7 September 2005 on ship-source pollution
and the introduction of penalties for infringements, recently amended by Directive
2009/123/EC of 21 October 2009, establishes that sanctions will be applicable to
any person – including the master, the owner, the operator, the charterer of a ship
or the classification society – who has been found to have caused or contributed
to illegal pollution intentionally or by means of serious negligence. This Directive
aims also to enhance cooperation among Member States to detect illegal discharges
and to develop methods to identify a particular discharge as originating from a
particular ship.
8.3.2 Image Quality
In Europe, oil spill detection from satellite SAR has become fully operational with
the CleanSeaNet service. The image analysis for slicks is carried out mostly by
visual inspection. For ship detection, on the other hand, automatic detection software is used, still with a final visual verification. In recent years, Europe has
seen a widespread build-up of close-to-operational ship detection capabilities. This
increased (near-) operational use of SAR images for ship and oil spill detection is
confronting service providers with several SAR image quality issues that impact on
M. Vespe et al.
Following the detection of a spill, the major issue is the prosecution of the
polluter, but two main principles co-exist: the Nationality of the ship and the
Geographical position of the ship. The principle of the Nationality of the ship is
also defined as principle of jurisdiction of the Flag State. On the other hand, the
possibility to apply the jurisdiction relevant for the position of the ship could concern: the jurisdiction of the State where the ship is sailing (principle of Coastal State)
or the jurisdiction of the port where the ship is in (principle of Port State).
There are two fundamental instruments available to the international community
for taking action against the perpetrators of illegal acts of marine pollution:
• MARPOL 73/78 Convention;
• 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
MARPOL 73/78 does not deviate from the exclusive jurisdiction of the Flag
State. On the other side, UNCLOS enlarges the jurisdiction of the Coastal States
in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), in addition to the sovereign rights of the
territorial sea. UNCLOS provisions break through the traditional supremacy of the
jurisdiction of the Flag State in respect of discharge violations in areas outside the
jurisdiction of a Coastal State: when a ship is voluntarily within a port, the Port State
is granted extensive judicial powers in respect of a discharge violation committed
by that ship outside its internal waters, territorial sea or EEZ. The provisions of
UNCLOS concerning this universal Port State jurisdiction represent a key factor to
the successful prosecution of the polluters.
Also, the European Union has taken specific actions to strongly combat shipsource pollution through a system of sanctions in case of intentional acts or serious
negligence. Directive 2005/35/EC of 7 September 2005 on ship-source pollution
and the introduction of penalties for infringements, recently amended by Directive
2009/123/EC of 21 October 2009, establishes that sanctions will be applicable to
any person – including the master, the owner, the operator, the charterer of a ship
or the classification society – who has been found to have caused or contributed
to illegal pollution intentionally or by means of serious negligence. This Directive
aims also to enhance cooperation among Member States to detect illegal discharges
and to develop methods to identify a particular discharge as originating from a
particular ship.
8.3.2 Image Quality
In Europe, oil spill detection from satellite SAR has become fully operational with
the CleanSeaNet service. The image analysis for slicks is carried out mostly by
visual inspection. For ship detection, on the other hand, automatic detection software is used, still with a final visual verification. In recent years, Europe has
seen a widespread build-up of close-to-operational ship detection capabilities. This
increased (near-) operational use of SAR images for ship and oil spill detection is
confronting service providers with several SAR image quality issues that impact on