Oil Pollution Act of 1990

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The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (German: Ölverschmutzungsgesetz von 1990 , OPA 90 for short ) is a US law that regulates the principles of preventing and dealing with oil accidents involving tankers in the United States, as well as the liability of companies involved.

details

The roots of the agreement go back in particular to the stranding of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez , which triggered an oil disaster in Prince William Sound in 1989 . Its ramifications led to the bill made by Democratic Congressman Walter B. Jones Sr. of North Carolina .

Key points of the law include the following provisions:

  • Tankers with a measurement over 5000 GT, which were commissioned after June 30, 1990 or delivered after January 1, 1994 and are operated in US waters, must have a double hull . The distance between the outer skin and the inner hull must be at least two meters for ships with a carrying capacity of more than 20,000 tonnes; different regulations apply to smaller ships.
  • A graduated phase-out program for single-hull tankers came into effect for the period from 1995 to 2015.
  • The liability for shipping companies that operate their tankers in US waters is not limited above.
  • Ships that were involved in an oil spill with a release of more than 3,800 m 3 after March 22, 1989 are excluded from sailing on Prince William Sound.
  • The law contains regulations regarding the Trans-Alaska Pipeline .

The law is still in force today and was last amended on December 29, 2000.

literature

  • Pein, Joachim W .: Giants of the oceans: The history of the supertanker . Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 1996, ISBN 3-7822-0670-3 .

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