Abbreviations of Proper Names used in this Report

American Bureau of Shipping

Atlantic Emergency Response Team

Arctic Marine Oilspill Program

Canadian Coast Guard

Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution

Canadian Environmental Protection Act

Civil Liability Convention

Canadian Marine Advisory Council

Comite Maritime Law International

Canadian Maritime Law Association

Compensation for Oil Pollution in European Waters

Canada Port Authority

Canada ShippingAct

Combined Sewer Outfalls

Canadian Wildlife Service

Department of Fisheries and Oceans

Det Norske Veritas

Deadweight Tonnage

European Commission

Eastern Canada Vessel Traffic Services Regulations

Eastern Canada Response Corporation

Exclusive Economic Zone

Emergency Response

Environmental Protection Agency

European Union

Floating Production, Storage and Offloading Units

Floating Storage Units

Hazardous and Noxious Substances

International Commission on Shipping

International Chamber of Shipping

International Maritime Organization

International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund

International Safety Management Code

International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited

Limiation of Liability for Maritime Claim

Letter of Undertaking

Marine Pollution

Marine Communication Traffic Services

Marine Environment Protection Committee

Marine LiabilityAct

Memorandum of Understanding

Maritime Pollution Claims Fund

Maritime Safety Committee

Motor Tanker

Motor Vessel

National Aerial Surveillance Program

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Natural Resource Damage Assessment

Northern Transportation Company Limited

Ore/Bulk/Oil

Oil Companies International Marine Forum

Oil PollutionAct

Oil PollutionAct 1990 (US)

Oil Spill Response Ltd.

Protection and Indemnity (Marine Insurance) Association

Parts per Million

Point Tupper Marine Services Limited

Regional Environmental Emergency Team

The Italian Classification Society

Response Organization

Search and Rescue

Special Drawing Rights*

Situation Report

Societe d'lntervention Maritime, Est du Canada

International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea

Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund

Transport Canada

Transport Canada Marine Safety

Transportation Safety Board

United Kingdom

United States

United States Coast Guard

Vancouver Port Authority

Vancouver Port Corporation

Western Canada Marine Response Corporation

* The value of the SDR at April 1,2002, was approximately $2.00165. This actual value is reflected in Figure 1 in Appendix D. Elsewhere in the report, for convenience, calculations are based on the SDR having a nominal value of $2.

Introduction

s dmini trator of the Ship- omce Oil Pollution Fund (SOPF), I am pleased to submit this Annual Report for the rtfi cal ear 2001-2002. We welcome this opportunity for reflection - to recaJI how far we have come, to value ' hat we ha e now, to apprai e om cunent and prospective obligations and, hopefully, tooffer constructive insights for onsideration in future action

Canada ha hown con iderable fore ight over the years in fashioning a unique well-functioning domestic compen ation regime.

A Universal Problem

At the "In ight Conference" on Emergency Respon e Planning for Marine Industries held in Vancouver in January 2002, I di cu ed the de elopment ofthe Canadian regime. A few decades ago in mo t countries the legal options for eeking compen ation for marine oil pollution damage and the recovery ofcost and expenses for clean-up and monitoring were limited. In Canada in orderto e tablish the liability ofare ponsible party there was generally a requirement to pro e negligence, nui ance, etc. Even then i sue uch a judgement proofing, bankruptcy, insolvency, juri diction and one- hip companie pre ented difficult to in unnountable recovery challenge Such issues cried out for tatutory olution

A Canadian Solution

The cataly t for a made in Canada olution occun·ed in 1970 when the tanker Arrow grounded on Cerberu Rock in Chedabucto Ba , o a cotia. fter the Arrow incident, major amendment were made tothe Canada Shipping Act (CSA). The new oil pill legi lation in Part XX ofthe C A be ame pru1 ofCanadian Law on June 30, 1971. Predating the entry into force of the international 1969 Ci it Liabilit on ention by more than four yeru· , and the international 1971 IOPC Fund on ention b more than e en eru· , the new Part X wa one ofthe fir t nationaJ comprehen i e regime for oil pill liability in the we t rn world.

The principal element ofPart XX were:

• e tabli hing the trict liability f hipowner t b re p n ible for o t and damage fora di charge ofoil; allowing the hipowner, in ertain ir um tan e , to limit hi liability to an amount linked to the hip's tonnage; creating a new fund, the Maritime Pollution laim Fund (MP F), to be a ailable for claim in exce of the hipowner' limit ofliabilit ; and, gi ing the Mini ter ofTran p011 the power to mo e or di po ofany hip and it cru·go di chru·ging or likely to di charge oil.

Thi regime wa in place between 1971 and 19 9, thu anadian authoritie w re ready when the Briti h tanker Kurdisran broke in two in the ab t trait in 1979 n route from o a cotia to Qu b c with a heated cargo of Bunker C oil. ee preci at page and 47.

In 1989 Canada decided to increa e it oil tanker pill ov r by be oming a ontracting tate in the international regime, while modifying and continuing it dome tic regime. The OP came into force on April 24, 1989, by amendment to the CSA and ucceeded the MP F.

The SOPF i intended to pay claim regarding oil pill from all cla e of hip at any place in Canada, or in Canadian water including the exclu ive economic zone. Thu , the OPF i not limited tooil tanker orto per i tent oil, a i the International Fund.

Thecurrent tatutory claim regime i found in the Marine Liability Act (MLA) .. 2001, c.6. Thi Act, which came into force on Augu t 8, 2001, continue the regime that wa previou ly found in the C A.