[*] B.S., UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA (1994); J.D., FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY (1998). Return to text.

[1] See Santha Oorjitham, Damage Control: A Quick Oil Clean-up and Speedy Charges, NATIONS, Oct. 31, 1997. Return to text.

[2] See id. Return to text.

[3] See id. Return to text.

[4] See id. Return to text.

[5] See id. Return to text.

[6] See Raj Rajendran, Singapore Charges 2 Captains in Oil Spill, SEATTLE TIMES, Oct. 22, 1997, at A12. Return to text.

[7] See id. Return to text.

[8] See David Knott, Hole Appears in Tanker Spill Cover, OIL & GAS J., Mar. 17, 1997, at 30. Return to text.

[9] See id. Return to text.

[10] See Mayer, Collective Action Call on Oil Pollution Compensation, LLOYD'S LIST INT'L, May 30, 1996, at 5. Return to text.

[11] See Estonia Tragedy Casts a Long Shadow, LLOYD'S LIST INT'L. Jan. 2, 1996, available in 1996 WL 6268873. Return to text.

[12] See Allison Giles, Countries Urged to Sign Shipping Rules New Spill Protocols Are Preferred by Group, PLATT'S OILGRAM NEWS, Aug. 29, 1997, available in 1997 WL 8880440. The United States is not a signatory to the 1992 protocols. See id. Return to text.

[13] See Knott, supra note 8. Return to text.

[14] See Mayer, supra note 10. Return to text.

[15] See David A. Barrett & Christine M. Warren, History of Florida Oil Spill Legislation, 5 FLA. ST. U. L. REV. 309, 340 (1977). Return to text.

[16] Compare id. at 339 (claiming the industry was only interested in warding off more stringent legislative action) with Gordon L. Becker, A Short Cruise on the Good Ships TOVALOP AND CRISTAL, 5 J. MAR. L. & COM. 609, 610-11 (arguing it was more a responsible industry action to fill in existing gaps in the existing regime). Return to text.

[17] See Barrett & Warren, supra note 15, at 340. Return to text.

[18] See Becker, supra note 16, at 610. Return to text.

[19] See Lawrence G. Cohen, Revisions of TOVALOP and CRISTAL: Strong Ships for Stormy Seas, 18 J. MAR. L. & COM. 525, 526 (1987). Return to text.

[20] See Barrett & Warren, supra note 15, at 340. Return to text.

[21] See Tanker Owners Voluntary Agreement Concerning Liability for Oil Pollution (TOVALOP), Jan. 7, 1969, as amended Oct. 13, 1993, II(B)(3), reprinted in 6 MICHAEL F. STURLEY, BENEDICT ON ADMIRALTY 6-136 (7th ed. 1993) [hereinafter TOVALOP Agreement]. Return to text.

[22] See Cohen, supra note 19, at 526. "Claims arising under the TOVALOP Agreement are met by [a] vessel's P&I insurers." Id. at 537. Return to text.

[23] TOVALOP Agreement VI. Return to text.

[24] See id. Return to text.

[25] See id. II(B)(4). Return to text.

[26] See id. VIII(E) and (F). Return to text.

[27] See id. VII(A); Cohen, supra note 19, at 526. Return to text.

[28] See TOVALOP Agreement IV(B)(a)-(d). Return to text.

[29] See Cohen, supra note 19, at 524. Return to text.

[30] A Supplemental to Tanker Liability for Oil Pollution (CRISTAL), as amended Oct. 11, 1993, I(H) reprinted in 6 MICHAEL F. STURLEY, BENEDICT ON ADMIRALTY 6-148.7 (7th ed. 1993) [hereinafter CRISTAL Agreement]. Return to text.

[31] See Becker, supra note 16, at 614. Return to text.

[32] See id. (noting original name as the "Oil Companies Institute for Marine Pollution Compensation Limited"). Return to text.

[33] See CRISTAL Agreement II(A). Cristal Limited organized and existed under the laws of Bermuda, and was comprised of members who were also parties to the Supplemental Agreement. See id. Return to text.

[34] See id. VII(A)(1). Return to text.

[35] See id. VII(2)(i). Return to text.

[36] See Becker, supra note 16, at 614-17. Return to text.

[37] See CRISTAL Agreement VII(B)(2). Return to text.

[38] See Becker, supra note 16, at 615. Return to text.

[39] See id. Return to text.

[40] See CRISTAL Agreement IV(A) & (B). Return to text.

[41] Id. IV(D)(2). Return to text.

[42] "[C]ompensation levels are denominated in Special Drawing Rights . . . based upon a weighted 'basket' of currencies selected by the International Monetary Fund." Cohen, supra note 19, at 528 n. 14. Return to text.

[43] See id. The exchange rate varies on a daily basis; $1.26 was used to represent a value of 1 SDR. See id. Return to text.

[44] See CRISTAL Agreement IV(D)(4). Return to text.

[45] See id. Return to text.

[46] See id. IV(D)(5). Return to text.

[47] See Barrett & Warren, supra note 15, at 345. Return to text.

[48] 46 U.S.C. app. § 740 (1997). Return to text.

[49] See Jerome B. Grubart, Inc. v. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., 513 U.S. 527 (1995); see also, In re Exxon Valdez, 767 F. Supp. 1509 (D. Alaska 1991). Return to text.

[50] See Sisson v. Ruby, 497 U.S. 358, 363 (1990). Return to text.

[51] Id. at 362. Return to text.

[52] Id. at 365; see also Lynch v. McFarland, 808 F. Supp. 559 (W.D. Ky. 1992). Return to text.

[53] See California v. S.S. Bournemouth, 307 F. Supp. 922 (C.D. Cal. 1969); Burgess v. M/V Tamano, 373 F. Supp. 839 (S.D. Me. 1974); Johnson v. Colonial Pipeline Co., 830 F. Supp. 309 (E.D. Va. 1993). Return to text.

[54] See Stephen E. Roady, Remedies in Admiralty for Oil Pollution, 5 FLA. ST. U. L. REV. 361, 367 (1977). Return to text.

[55] See Cereghino v. Boeing Co., 826 F.Supp. 1243, 1250 (D. Oregon 1993). Return to text.

[56] See Burgess v. M/V Tamano, 370 F. Supp. 247, 250 (S.D. Me. 1973). Return to text.

[57] See Sekco Energy, Inc. v. M/V Chouest, 1993 WL 322942, at *3 (E.D. La. 1993). Return to text.

[58] See Roady, supra note 53, at 375. Return to text.

[59] See In re Oswego Barge Corp., 439 F. Supp. 312 (N.D.N.Y. 1977). Return to text.

[60] See 46 U.S.C. app. § 181 (1997). Return to text.

[61] See id. § 183(a). Return to text.

[62] See Tug Ocean Prince, Inc. v. United States, 584 F.2d 1151 (2d Cir. 1978). Return to text.

[63] See In re New Jersey Barging Corp., 144 F. Supp. 340 (S.D.N.Y. 1956). Return to text.

[64] See In re Barracuda Tanker Corp., 409 F.2d 1013 (2d Cir. 1969). Return to text.

[65] See Cohen, supra note 19, at 528. Return to text.

[66] See Becker, supra note 16, at 618. Return to text.

[67] See International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (CLC), Nov. 29, 1969 (entered into force June 19, 1975), reprinted in 6 MICHAEL F. STURLEY, BENEDICT ON ADMIRALTY 6-62.133 (7th ed. 1993) [hereinafter CLC]. Return to text.

[68] See id. Return to text.

[69] See id. Return to text.

[70] See Becker, supra note 16, at 619 (discussing CLC art. V and the conversion from francs to U.S. dollars). Return to text.

[71] See CLC, supra note 66, art. V, ¶ 3. Return to text.

[72] See id. art. VII. Return to text.

[73] Id. art. III, ¶ 2. Return to text.

[74] See Protocol to the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, May 25, 1994, art 6, ¶ 1, reprinted in 6 MICHAEL F. STURLEY, BENEDICT ON ADMIRALTY 6-77 (7th ed. 1993) [hereinafter CLC 1984 Protocol]. (Dollar conversions for the Special Drawing Rights units were calculated using the same rate applied in the private agreements above.) Return to text.

[75] See CLC 1984 Protocol, supra note 73, art. 6, ¶ 2. Return to text.

[76] Id. Return to text.

[77] See Mayer, supra note 10, at 5. Return to text.

[78] See id. Return to text.

[79] Daniel Kopec & H. Philip Peterson, Note, Crude Legislation: Liability and Compensation Under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, 23 RUTGERS L.J. 597, 610 (1992) (quoting Resolution on Establishment of an International Compensation Fund for Oil Pollution Damage). Return to text.

[80] See id. Return to text.

[81] See id. Return to text.

[82] See International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, Dec. 18, 1971 (entered into force Oct. 16, 1978), art. 10, reprinted in 6 MICHAEL F. STURLEY, BENEDICT ON ADMIRALTY 6-100.2 (7th ed. 1993) [hereinafter Fund Convention]. Return to text.

[83] See Fund Convention, supra note 81, art. 4. Return to text.

[84] See id. arts. 4-5. Return to text.

[85] See Kopec & Peterson, supra note 78, at 610. Return to text.

[86] See Protocol to the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, May 25, 1984, art. 6, ¶ 3, reprinted in 6 MICHAEL F. STURLEY, BENEDICT ON ADMIRALTY 6-116.2(3) (7th ed. 1993). Return to text.

[87] See Mayer, supra note 10, at 5. Return to text.

[88] See Paul S. Edelman, International Convention for Oil Spills, 216 N.Y.L.J. 3, 3 (1996). Return to text.

[89] See 33 U.S.C. § 2701 (1997); Michael P. Donaldson, The Oil Pollution Act of 1990: Reaction and Response, 3 VILL. ENVTL. L.J. 283, 302 & n.124 (1992). Another author has suggested that the Senate's reluctance to ratify the 1984 convention was more of a preemption issue affecting states' rights. See Stephen T. Smith, Comment, An Analysis of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the 1984 Protocols on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 14 HOUS. J. INT'L L. 115, 135 (1991). Return to text.

[90] See Francis J. Gonynor, Six Years Before the Mast: The Evolution of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, 9 U.S.F. MAR. L.J. 105, 105-06 (1996). Return to text.

[91] See Giles, supra note 12. Return to text.

[92] See 33 U.S.C. § 2702(a) (1997). Return to text.

[93] See id. § 2702 (b)(2)(B-F). Return to text.

[94] See id. § 2702 (b)(2)(A). Return to text.

[95] See id. § 2704(a). Return to text.

[96] See id. §§ 2701(11) & 2712. Return to text.

[97] Id. § 2718(c). Other authors suggest the Limitation of Liability Act is still viable after the passage of OPA 90. See Patricia Simmons Schminke, The Oil Pollution Act of 1990: Has It Muddied the Waters of Liability Limitation?, 5 U. BALT. J. ENVTL. L. 173 (1995); William M. Ducan, Esq., The Oil Pollution Act of 1990's Effect on the Shipowner's Limitation of Liability Act, 5 U.S.F. MAR. L.J. 303 (1993). Return to text.

[98] See 33 U.S.C. § 2703(a)(1-3). Return to text.

[99] See id. § 2703 (c)(1-3). Return to text.

[100] See id. § 2704 (c)(1). Return to text.

[101] See id. § 2718(a)(1). Return to text.

[102] See id. Return to text.

[103] See Gonynor, supra note 89, at 124. Return to text.

[104] See id. at 124-25. Return to text.

[105] See id. at 125. Return to text.

[106] See Fla. Stat. § 376.011 (1997). Return to text.

[107] 411 U.S. 325 (1973). Return to text.

[108] See 33 U.S.C. § 1251 (1997), superceding 33 U.S.C. § 1161. Return to text.

[109] See Askew, 411 U.S. at 343. Return to text.

[110] See Goynor, supra note 89, at 125 (footnote omitted). Return to text.

[111] See International Ass'n of Indep. Tanker Owners (Intertanko) v. Lowry, 947 F. Supp. 1484 (W.D. Wash. 1996). Intertanko is an international association comprised of more than 300 shipping companies that account for 80% of the world's independently owned oil tankers. See id. at 1488. Return to text.

[112] See id. at 1491. Return to text.

[113] See id. Return to text.

[114] See Giles, supra note 12. Return to text.

[115] See Janet Porter, Tanker Compensation May Not Be Paid Because of Failure to Adopt Protocol Agreements, LLOYD'S LIST INT'L, Oct. 18, 1997, available in 1997 WL 4465756. Return to text.

[116] See id. Return to text.

[117] See id. Return to text.

[118] See Liz Shuker, Oil Spill Victims to get Increase in Payments, LLOYD'S LIST INT'L, May 30, 1996, available in 1996 WL 6275887. Return to text.

[119] See Knott, supra note 8, at 30. Return to text.

[120] See Giles, supra note 12, at 2. Return to text.

[121] See id. Return to text.

[122] See Philippines Signs Conventions on Oil Spill Compensation, ASIA PULSE, Feb. 12, 1997, available in 1997 WL 10593279. Return to text.

[123] See id. Return to text.

[124] This is an unlikely event considering OPA 90 was some 15 years in the making. See generally Donaldson, supra note 88, at 288. Return to text.

[125] See Making the Polluter Pay, BUS. LINE, Feb. 17, 1997, available in 1997 WL 8205523. Return to text.

[126] See Anthony Poole, Quiet Year for Major Oil Tanker Spills, LLOYD'S LIST INT'L, Sept. 26, 1996, available in 1996 WL 11840846. Return to text.

[127] See id. Return to text.

[128] See Fauziah Ismail, Note, 'Ratify '92 Protocols' Call to States, BUS. TIMES, Aug. 6, 1996, available in 1996 WL 10510117. Return to text.

[129] See id. Return to text.

[130] See id. Return to text.

[131] See Fauziah Ismail, Tovalop Registers Slight Increase in Tanker Tonnage, BUS. TIMES, Oct. 9, 1996, available in 1996 WL 11792865. Return to text.