iopc
London
The International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC Funds) provide
financial compensation for oil pollution damage that occurs in Member States,
resulting from spills of persistent oil from tankers. The history of the IOPC
Funds began with the oil spill from the Torrey Canyon, which ran aground near
the Scilly Isles in 1967, fouling UK and French coastlines. This incident
exposed a number of serious shortcomings, in particular the absence of an
international agreement on liability and compensation in the event of such a
spill. It led the international community to establish, under the auspices of
the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a regime for compensation for
victims of oil pollution.
