Reassessment of the Marine Salvage Posture of the United States (1994) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix B: Jettison Report and Recommendations
Appendix B: Jettison Report and Recommendations
Pages 67-81
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From page 67... ...
law concerning intentional discharges of petroleum cargoes to save ships and prevent the loss of larger amounts of cargo. Consider the implications of advances in of} spill contingency planning, environmental data acquisition, and spill trajectory forecasting, especially how such advances might be harnessed in making time-cutical operational decisions about stranded tankers.
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From page 68... ...
Variables that can influence risk include characteristics of the oil, physical environmental conditions, containment and recovery measures, geology of the impact zones, toxicological sensitivity of vulnerable species, and ecological characteristics of vulnerable areas. These variables interact to drive weathering rates and persistence, spread of the spill, direction of stick movement, effectiveness of response measures, size of the impact zone, extent and duration of biological effect, and degree and rate of recovery.
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From page 69... ...
territorial sea, where the purposeful jettisoning of of] is prohibited under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA)
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From page 70... ...
have] to monitor the implementation of these new laws so that the new environmental obligations of salvors do not undermine the certainty of the legal regime upon which salvage operations necessarily rely." Philip A
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From page 71... ...
, and EFOSC] to consider the jettisoning possibility expeditiously and make a prompt decision to direct this action if, in the judgment of the President's delegate, it wait mitigate or prevent substantial threats of discharge." According to Burgess, "Government paralysis can cause far more serious consequences than a wise jettison decision." State laws probably cannot impose criminal or civil sanctions on a salvor who jettisons of} at the direction of the FOSC because of the federal supremacy doctrine established by the courts, Burgess said.
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From page 72... ...
Given the new emphasis on avoidance of environmental damage in the 1989 convention, the courts could acknowledge liability salvage as a legitimate part of a salvage award. In conclusion, Ms Rees noted that "Shipowners and public and private salvors face uncertainty regarding potential liability for jettisoning cargo, even if the salvor's actions may be in the public interest by avoiding greater discharge of of]
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From page 74... ...
She also questioned the need to develop standard criteria for decision making, in that salvage situations vary so widely. She argued for retaining the current civil liability provisions in OPA 90, on the grounds they provide an effective prevention mechanism, but she added that responder immunity from criminal liability might be acceptable.
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From page 75... ...
In deciding whether to jettison, naval architects, the vessel's master, and the salver should agree on whether the vessel is more likely to break up and spill the entire cargo than she is to survive, and whether the discharge of 2,000 tons of cargo would be enough to refloat the vessel. Smit Americas salvors probably would not jettison unless ordered to do so by the FOSC, Duscoll said, adding that the key issue then becomes who actually makes the final .
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From page 76... ...
Philip Berns, representing the Justice Department, emphasized the need to consider possible environmental damage due to the discharge, act cling that he would defer to technical experts. Jerry Gait, providing scientific support, said the hurricane would cause a surge of two to six feet, resulting in a higher tide than predicted.
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From page 77... ...
The speakers' varying interpretations of OPA 90 reflect the ambiguities in federal and state oil pollution laws and confusion within the maritime community concerning the legal effects of jettisoning. The Congress did not consider implications for salvage in developing OPA 90, and the resulting uncertainty over liability clearly is a factor in the reluctance to jettison.
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From page 78... ...
Information is needed concerning spill trajectory, characteristics of the oil, physical environmental conditions, containment and recovery measures, geology of the impact zones, toxicological sensitivity of vulnerable species, and ecological characteristics of vulnerable areas. These conditions aside, the committee recognizes that there may be instances when the lives of the crew and passengers (if any)
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From page 79... ...
Examples include pumping out a flooded engine room, pressing down of dirty ballast tanks, expelling water from a flooded cargo or fuel tank, using compressed air to press out damaged tanks, displacing oily water with buoyant material, and operating many on-water skimmers (which, in separating of! and water, may discharge small quantities of oil)
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From page 80... ...
The committee therefore recommends: The NCP should be amended to give the FOSC explicit authority, in consultation with the appropriate state authority, to approve certain common salvage actions that may result in incidental discharges of small quantities of oil. Such actions include pumping out a flooded engine room, pressing down of dirty ballast tanks, expelling water from a flooded cargo or fuel tank, using compressed air to press out damaged tanks, displacing oily water with buoyant material, and operating on-water skimmers.
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From page 81... ...
Utilization of the UCS, and modifications to state contingency plans in line with the committee's recommended changes to the NCP, may help resolve some of these issues. Other questions concern whether a responsible party may seek general contribution or indemnification for such acts, or whether certain general maritime law claims and defenses exist; and how the IS51 Limitation of Liability Act applies in light of OPA 90.
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