Oil Pollution and Maritime Accidents: A Case of the Mediterranean Region

Running head: DISSERTATION
Dissertation
Research topic: Oil Pollution and Maritime Accidents: A Case of the Mediterranean Region
Name of the student
Name of the University

1DISSERTATION
Acknowledgement
Firstly, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the principal Mr./Mrs./Ms.
__________________________________ of _______________________________ University
for the research “Oil Pollution and Maritime Accidents: A Case of the Mediterranean Region”.
I would also grateful to him for providing me necessary facilities for accomplishing the research.
I place on record, my sincere thank you my mentor and guide Mr./Mrs./Ms.
____________________________________ for the continuous encouragement and direction for
opting best and suitable methods to conduct this research study and complete the same. The
expertise, guidance and encouragement that he shared with me help a lot to develop my
understanding in the research topic.
The support I got from my parents and classmates is also appreciable and I admit that without
this I will not be able to complete the research within time. I also got direct help from my seniors
and class mates and receive unlimited encouragement and attention from rest of the friends.
Thank You All...!!!

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Abstract
This study aims for the assessing the incidence of oil pollution and maritime accidents in the
Mediterranean Region. The assessment is also focused on some of the case studies of the marine
accidents that caused from oil tankers and its impact on the sea and marine wildlife. The causes
of the marine accidents are caused through collision, grounding, fire and explosion, sinking,
cargo transfer failure according to the report of Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response
Centre. Diminished water quality, loss of resources, loss of human life, higher level of acidity
and effect on Food Chain are the common damages occurred due to marine pollution. There are
number of legislations for the safety of the marine pollution- SOLAS 74 for safety of life at sea,
OILPOL 54 Treaty for addressing the oil pollution at sea, MARPOL 73/78 for marine pollution
from ships, Civil Liability Convention (CLC) for addressing Oil Pollution Damage and The
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
In response to the enhancement of the marine environment, suggestion for increasing the
carefulness on the chemical compositions, enhancement of regular inspection, preparing strict
governing rules, ocean cleanups and training to the marine workers should be implement through
the literature review. Secondary resources have been addressed in this research study. It is also
found that the considered regulations have many drawbacks like OILPOL is lacking sufficient
enforcement controls for ports and coastal states, MARPOL 73/78 treaty emphasized more on
the effective compliance by ship owners rather than of using on discharge standards, CLC 69
protocol only focused to the oil combined tankers for oil spills and not the bulk oil carriers and
lastly, the UNCLOS convention is expensive in nature due to its international co-operation and
standards for shipping resulting in getting less preferences from the ship owners. The
recommendation for improving the UNCLOS Convention is the inclusion of the criteria for

3DISSERTATION
providing mandatory training and criteria to rate the oil trading companies. In terms of OILPOL
Convention recommendation including the criteria to present the documentation of the ships and
ability of the employee might reduce the marine pollution is suggested. CLC convention can be
improved by including detailed provision of the rulebook that mention the details of the factors
that will be considered under the insurance policy of CLC. Lastly, the convention of the
MARPOL can be enhanced through implementing new technology in lesser cost and initiating
proactive communication from governing bodies to explain each guideline of the convention.
Keywords
Oil Spill, Marine accident, UNCLOS Convention, OILPOL Convention, CLC Convention and
MARPOL Convention, Mediterranean Region

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction........................................................................................................................10
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................10
1.1 Background of the study............................................................................................................10
1.2 Rationale of the research...........................................................................................................13
1.3 Aim of the research....................................................................................................................14
1.4 Objective of the research...........................................................................................................14
1.5 Question of the research............................................................................................................14
1.6 Structure of the research............................................................................................................15
Chapter 2: Literature Review...............................................................................................................16
2.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................16
2.1 Common causes of maritime accidents.....................................................................................17
2.1.1 Offshore Oil Rig Mishaps...................................................................................................17
2.1.2 Fire and Explosions............................................................................................................18
2.1.3 Sinking................................................................................................................................18
2.1.4 Grounding...........................................................................................................................18
2.1.5 Collision..............................................................................................................................19
2.2 Impact of marine calamities.......................................................................................................20
2.2.1 Diminished water quality....................................................................................................20

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2.2.2 Loss of resources................................................................................................................20
2.2.3 Loss of human life..............................................................................................................20
2.2.4 Higher level of acidity........................................................................................................21
2.2.5 Effect on Food Chain..........................................................................................................21
2.3 Factors that enhances marine environment................................................................................21
2.3.1 Carefulness on the chemical compositions.........................................................................21
2.3.2 Regular inspection..............................................................................................................22
2.3.3 Strict governing rules..........................................................................................................22
2.3.4 Ocean cleanups...................................................................................................................23
2.3.5 Training to the marine workers...........................................................................................23
2.4 Types of marine calamities........................................................................................................23
2.4.1 Maritime Accidents............................................................................................................23
2.4.2 Environmental Pollution.....................................................................................................25
2.4.3 Oil Spills.............................................................................................................................27
2.5 Existing international maritime laws and regulations and its benefits......................................28
2.5.1 SOLAS 74 for Safety of Life at Sea...................................................................................28
2.5.2 OILPOL 54 Treaty for addressing the oil pollution at sea.................................................30
2.5.3 MARPOL 73/78 for marine pollution from ships..............................................................31
2.5.4 Civil Liability Convention (CLC) for addressing Oil Pollution Damage...........................33
2.5.5 The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).................................34

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2.6 Gaps in international maritime laws and regulations................................................................35
Chapter 3: Research Methodology......................................................................................................37
3.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................37
3.1 Research Philosophy..................................................................................................................37
3.1.1 Justification for selected research philosophy....................................................................38
3.2 Research Approach....................................................................................................................38
3.2.1 Justification for chosen research approach.........................................................................38
3.3 Research purpose.......................................................................................................................39
3.3.1 Justification for selected research purpose.........................................................................39
3.4 Data collection process..............................................................................................................39
3.5 Data Analysis techniques...........................................................................................................40
3.6 Sampling Technique..................................................................................................................41
3.7 Ethical consideration.................................................................................................................41
3.8 Research limitation....................................................................................................................41
3.9 Research Timeframe..................................................................................................................42
Chapter 4: Data collection and Analysis.............................................................................................43
4.1 Research Findings......................................................................................................................43
4.2 Case studies of maritime accidents during the period 1977-2013 took place in Mediterranean
...................................................................................................................................................44
4.2.1 Irenes Serenade oil spill 1980.............................................................................................45

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4.2.2 Lebanon crisis oil spill in 2006...........................................................................................45
4.2.3 Satellite monitoring of the oil spill in the Mediterranean Sea............................................46
4.3 Major findings of the oil spill occurred at the Mediterranean Sea............................................50
4.4 Main causes of oil pollution as well as the consequences of maritime accidents in
Mediterranean Region...............................................................................................................52
4.4.1 Gas Discovery.....................................................................................................................54
4.5 Examining connection of the Mediterranean Region and international maritime trade............56
4.6 Social responsibility of the company in environment and analyzing existing legislative
framework..................................................................................................................................59
4.6.1 The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).................................59
4.6.2 The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil (OILPOL)
...............................................................................................................................................60
4.6.3 Civil Liability Convention (CLC)..........................................................................................62
4.6.4 The International convention for the prevention of pollution from ships (MARPOL) 73/78
...............................................................................................................................................63
4.7 Analysis.....................................................................................................................................64
4.7.1 Issues and proposed analysis to improve the current legislative framework......................64
4.7.1 Recommendation on UNCLOS Convention......................................................................64
4.7.2 Recommendation on OILPOL Convention........................................................................64
4.7.3 Recommendation on CLC Convention...............................................................................65
4.7.4 Recommendation on MARPOL Convention......................................................................66