(3) willfully obstructs any person who is acting in compliance with an order or direction under this Act, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. (b) In a criminal proceeding for an offense under paragraphs (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of this section it shall be a defense for the accused to prove that he used all due diligence to comply with any order or direction or that he had reasonable cause to believe that compliance would have resulted in serious risk to human life. Sec. 13. (a) The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, may nominate individuals to the list of experts provided for in Article III of the Convention. (b) The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary, shall designate or nominate, as appropriate and necessary, the negotiators, conciliators, or arbitrators provided for by the Convention and the Annexes thereto. Sec. 14. No measures may be taken under authority of this Act against any warship or other ship owned or operated by a country and used, for the time being, only on government non-commercial service. Sec. 15. This Act shall be interpreted and administered in a manner consistent with the Convention and other international law. Except as specifically provided, nothing in this Act may be interpreted to prejudice any otherwise applicable right, duty, privilege or immunity or deprive any country or person of any remedy otherwise applicable. Sec. 16. The Secretary may issue reasonable rules and regulations which he considers appropriate and necessary for the effective implementation of this Act. Sec. 17. The revolving fund established under section 311(k) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act shall be available to the Secretary for Federal actions and activities under section 5 of this Act. Sec. 18. This Act shall be effective upon the date of enactment, or upon the date the Convention becomes effective as to the United States, whichever is later. THE SECRETARY OF STATE WASHINGTON January 31, 1973 Dear Mr. [President/Speaker]: There is transmitted herewith a draft of a proposed act, "To implement the International Convention on The This act was first transmitted to the Congress on September 8, 1972. The proposed act would incorporate in domestic law, provisions embodied in the two Conventions establishing a regime for prevention of and compensation for oil pollution damage from tankers. International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, which was negotiated in 1969 at a conference covened by the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO), has been favorably reported to the Senate by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Action by the Senate is pending. The International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, also an IMCO Convention, has been transmitted to the Senate for advice and consent. The submission of draft legislation at this time is in accord with Executive Branch intention of seeking legislative implementation at the earliest possible time. Title I of the proposed act implements provisions of the Civil Liability Convention making a tanker owner strictly liable to governments and private persons for oil pollution damage in the territory, including the territorial sea, of the United States or any other country party to the Civil Liability Convention, and for preventive measures, wherever taken, in respect of such damage. An owner may limit his liability to the lesser of $144* per ton or $15,120,000* by constituting a fund in the amount of his liability limit in the appropriate court. The act also requires that the owner of a vessel capable of or actually carrying more than 2,000 tons of oil in bulk as cargo carry insurance or another quarantee of financial security in the amount of the limit which may be applied to his liability. Title II of the act implements the provisions of the Compensation Fund Convention making the Compensation Fund (an international entity) strictly liable up to $32,400,000 per incident for oil pollution damage insofar as that amount exceeds applicable limits in the Civil Liability Convention and for the entire amount in respect of certain incidents of damage where the owner may avail himself of a defense under that Convention. The Compensation Fund will be financed by contributions levied on receivers of oil importing more than 150,000 tons of contributing oil on the basis of a fixed sum per ton of oil, set on the basis of need from time to time. Title II also implements the provisions of the Compensation Fund Convention which provides for the indemnification by the Fund of a portion of the liability of the owner or his guarantor under the Liability Convention. The amount which may be indemnified is that portion of liability which exceeds $108 per ton or $9,000,000, whichever is the less, and which does not exceed $144 per ton or $15,120,000, whichever is the less. The obligation to indemnify is subject to defeat if the incident causing the pollution damage arose from the * Throughout this letter and the attached sectional analysis, dollar figures are expressed in terms of U.S. dollars taking account of P.L. 92-268, the Par Value Modification Act. The messages from the President transmitting the Conventions to the Senate (Exec. G, 91st Cong., 2d Sess., May 20, 1970; Exec. K, 91st Cong., 2d Sess., May 5, 1972) have expressed dollar figures in terms of 1970 U.S. dollars. The Conventions and the act themselves provide that the limit is the national currency equivalent of specified amounts of Poincare francs. willful misconduct of the owner or, to the proportionate extent the incident, through the actual fault or privity of the owner, was caused by the ship's failure at the time of the incident to comply with the provisions of named IMCO Conventions which operate to have a pollution prevention effect. Title III of the act gathers the provisions of law required by both Conventions regarding subrogation and apportionment of claims where applicable liability limits may be exceeded. It also includes a provision (Section 302 (b)) empowering a District Court of the United States to adopt a plan for prompt and equitable distribution of monies in such cases. The provisions of the act are explained in greater detail in the attached sectional analysis. The act would supersede that part of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act as amended relating to money damages for oil pollution and financial security, that only insofar as a given oil pollution incident is within the scope of the Conventions. No express language of supersession has been provided, however, pending review of recent changes to that Act. Prompt consideration and early enactment of this legislation are respectfully urged. The Office of Management and Budget has advises that the enactment of this legislation is consistent with the objectives of the Administration. Sincerely, /s/ Marshall Wright Acting Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations Honorable Spiro T. Agney Honorable Carl Albert AN ACT To implement the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage and the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Oil Pollution Compensation Act of 1972." "TITLE I - INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON CIVIL LIABILITY FOR OIL POLLUTION DAMAGE "Sec. 101. For the purposes of this Title, the term "(a) 'Ship' means any sea-going vessel and any seaborne craft of any type whatsoever, actually carrying oil in bulk as cargo. "(b) 'Person' means (1) any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, Government agency, or instrumentality, any State, or any political subdivision of, or any political entity within a State, any foreign government or country, or any political subdivision of any such government or country, or other entity; and (2) any legal successor, representative, agent, or agency of the foregoing. "(c) 'Owner' means the person or persons registered as the owner of the ship or, in the absence of registration, the person or persons owning the ship. However in the case of a ship owned by a country and operated by a company which in that country is registered as the ship's operator, 'owner' shall mean such company. "(d) 'State of the ship's registry' and other references to registration of a ship in a State mean in relation to registered ships the country of registration of the ship, and in relation to unregistered ships the country whose flag the ship is flying. Registration of a ship in the United States includes the licensing or enrollment of a ship. "(e) 'Oil' means any persistent oil, such as crude oil, fuel oil, heavy diesel oil, lubricating oil and whale oil, whether carried on board a ship as cargo or in the bunkers of such a ship. "(f) Pollution damage' means loss or damage caused 214 |