30th Anniversary of the Canadian Ship-Source Oil Pollution Fund

Tim Wadsworth attended a seminar and reception in Ottawa, Canada to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Canadian Ship-Source Oil Pollution Fund. The Fund, started originally in 1971 following the grounding of tanker ARROW in Nova Scotia, was amended and relaunched in 1989 as the SSOPF following the adoption of the international scheme for liability and compensation by Canada. The morning of the seminar highlighted the success of the Fund that has received more than 400 claims and paid C$24 million in compensation for incidents involving a spill of oil in Canadian waters from ships of all types. The afternoon discussion focused upon the role of indigenous Canadian tribes in a pollution response and their access to the Canadian Fund.