Oil Pollution Act of 1990
OPA 90 as the source of United States tanker escort, double hull phase out and response planning requirements, and how it sits against MARPOL and the CLC.
The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was enacted after the Exxon Valdez grounding and is the source of most United States tanker requirements that differ from the international baseline. Section 4116(c) is the authority for the tanker escort rule at 33 CFR Part 168, and it was amended by section 711 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010, which is what allowed double hull tankers to be brought into the Prince William Sound escort requirement in 2013.
OPA 90 sits alongside rather than inside the international regime. The United States is not party to the Civil Liability Convention or the Fund Conventions, so liability for oil pollution in United States waters runs on the Act’s own scheme rather than on the international one.
The full article will cover the Act’s structure, the escort and double hull provisions, the response plan and financial responsibility requirements, the liability and limitation scheme, and the points at which it diverges from MARPOL Annex I and the civil liability conventions.