Financial responsibility rules under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990

Abstract

The potentially unlimited liability associated with vessel ownership under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 has led to avoidance behaviors from the shipping industry, such as the restructuring of corporations to evade liability. To generate an incentive for sound risk management in the shipping sector, financial responsibility should be properly enforced. Protection and Indemnity Clubs, which have traditionally provided financial guaranties, now refuse to provide such safeguards to avoid liability under the Act. The magnitude of oil movements in U.S. waters has created alternative commercial guarantors without any serious adverse impact on U.S. oil imports. It remains to be seen how the U.S. marine insurance market can be restructured without unnecessary duplication in insurance coverage and premiums.