Essay by Geoffrey Brice, Q.C.
Within the last half century, the world has witnessed remarkable changes in the field of maritime transport operations which have resulted in environmental problems of major proportions. World War II saw the introduction of the bulk carriage of oil in large-purpose built tankers. Prior to that, the carriage of oil by sea had been on a much smaller scale. At the end of World War II, ships capable of carrying 25,000 tons of oil were regarded as supertankers. By the 1960s, tankers known as Very Large Crude Carriers, capable of carrying 100,000 tons of oil or more in bulk, were being constructed. Soon, tankers capable of carrying over 200,000 tons, Ultra Large Crude Carriers, were being built. There are now ships capable of carrying over 500,000 tons of oil. These ships carry their cargoes through busy shipping lanes and environmentally sensitive areas to the industrialized parts of the world for refining.
Further, and leaving aside the carriage of oil and oil products, there have also been major developments in other areas of sea transportation that affect the possibility of environmental hazard. The 1950s saw the introduction of containerized traffic. Ships now ply carrying containers stuffed with cargoes of numerous types (some in practice dangerous though undeclared as such). Also, there are specialized chemical carriers for carriage of liquefied gas, nuclear waste, and other hazardous cargoes.
For many years, no effective preparation existed for protecting the environment from the effects of a major casualty involving the carriage of oil or any of these other hazardous products. The first major casualty involving a tanker was the stranding of The Torrey Canyon on the coast of the United Kingdom in 1967 that lead to a massive oil spill. This was followed in 1978 by the wreck of the tanker Amoco Cadiz on the French coast. Since, and perhaps in spite of, these two well known and publicized events, there have been numerous other casualties throughout the world. Of these, perhaps the best known casualty in the United States is the pollution caused by the stranding of the tanker Exxon Valdez on the coast of Alaska. The Valdez incident is but one of many casualties involving dangerous chemicals and other hazardous products which have put life, property, and the environment at risk.
As a result, in the space of only forty years, the legal regime relating to the carriage of such cargoes and the consequences of a casualty has had to be radically reformed and modified. Detailed regulations exist governing the mode of carriage. States around the world have been given the power of intervention on the high seas in the event of a casualty. These regulations arise partly from powers agreed upon internationally and partly from domestic legislation.
However, one must never forget that in many, but not all cases, major casualties and environmental catastrophes are and can be averted by prompt action taken at sea, not by governments, but by private corporations. These private actors are the world's professional salvors. They maintain powerful tugs, fire-fighting equipment, pumps, compressors, diving equipment, and the like, ready to be transported on short notice by air or by sea to wherever they are needed. In addition to craft and materials, these salvors, of necessity, employ trained and experienced salvage officers, divers, engineers, and naval architects capable of rapidly going to the scene, taking charge, and rescuing lives and property. In many cases, they protect the marine environment, and in so doing, the world's coastlines.
About the Author
Geoffrey Brice, Q.C. Queen's Counsel. Recorder of the Crown Court; Master of the Bench of the Middle Temple; Lloyd's Salvage Arbitrator; Visiting Professor of Law, Tulane Law School.
Citation
70 Tul. L. Rev. 669 (1995)