There are 64 Contracting States to the Bunkers Convention
INTERTANKO Members will recall that the Bunkers Convention came into force in November 2008 . It applies to all ships over 1000 gt.
INTERTANKO advised at the time that there is nothing in the Convention which excludes tankers covered by the CLC regime. Each Convention is free-standing. The Bunkers Convention does only apply to spills which would not otherwise be compensated under the CLC. However, the CLC only applies to tankers when they carry persistent oil in bulk as cargo, or on the voyage immediately thereafter. In practice, therefore, the Bunkers Convention could apply on rare occasions when the CLC tanker is unladen. State Parties will likely therefore insist on a Bunker Convention certificate for CLC tankers whether or not the CLC applies.
This advice has now been endorsed by the IMO Assembly in the attached IMO Resolution which recommends that State Parties to the Bunkers Convention:
- issue the certificate prescribed by the Bunkers Convention even when the ships concerned also hold a CLC certificate;
- require ships of 1,000 gross tonnage and above flying their flag or entering or leaving ports or offshore facilities in their territory to be insured and to hold a bunkers certificate as prescribed by the Bunkers Convention even when the ships concerned already hold a CLC certificate;
- avoid taking action that could cause unnecessary bureaucracy.
There are currently 64 Contracting States to the Bunkers Convention.
Source: INTERTANKO
