Offshore Installations and Structures

1. Main international instruments

a. Framework conventions: general rules

• Relevant provisions of the Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf 1958, especially article 5
•  Relevant Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS), especially articles 1, 60, 80, 208, 210, 214 and 216
• 1977 Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage resulting from Exploration for and Exploitation of Seabed Mineral Resources (not ratified)
• 2005 Protocol to the 1988 Protocol For the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms located on the Continental Shelf, esp. article 2bis(b)

b. IMO regulations and guidelines

• 1948 Convention on the International Maritime Organization, especially article 57
• Guidance for the Application of of Safety, Security and Environmental Protection Provisions to FPSOs and FSUs, MSC-MEPC.2/Circ.9, dated 25 May 2010
• IMO Legal Committee supports follow-up to Deepwater Horizon and Montara, 97th session, 15-19 November 2010

c. Geological surveying and research in UNCLOS

• Relevant Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS),especially part XIII on Marine Scientific Research and part XII on the protection and preservation of the marine environment, including articles 194(3)(2) and 194(5)

d. Seaborne pollution from liquid and gaseous waste (oil, gas, drilling fluids)

Discharge from offshore installations

• 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships as amended by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL 73/78) and Annex I

Avoiding discharges

• 1990 International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-Operation
• 2006 Joint Statement on Partnership in Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Cooperation in the Gulf of Thailand

Managing oil spills, setting liability before and during transport

• 2001 Bunker Convention which is applicable to all floating crafts (i.e. drilling ships, FPSO and FSO). The ship does not need to be engaged in an international voyage nor to be self-propelled
• 1992 Protocol to amend the 1969 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage
• 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims
• 1996 Protocol to amend the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims

Discharge of other noxious substances (including dispersants) than oil and oily mixtures

• 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships as amended by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL 73/78) and Annex II do not apply to pollution from offshore installations to the extent that they arise from the exploration, exploitation and associated off-shore processing of sea-bed mineral resources (article 2(3)(b)(ii) of 1973 MARPOL)
• 2001 International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships (including article 2(9))

Inapplicability of the London Convention on Dumping

• 1972 London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by dumping of wastes and other matter (especially article 3)

e. Seaborne pollution from solid waste (including drill cuttings)

• 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships as amended by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL 73/78) and Annex V (especially Regulation 5)

• 2012 Guidelines for the implementation of MARPOL Annex V (Resolution  MEPC 219(63) adopted on 2 March 2012)

• 2012 Guidelines for the development of Garbage Management Plans (Resolution MEPC 220(63) adopted on 2 March 2012)

f. Air pollution

• 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, article 2 esp. 2(1)(a)(vii) and 2(2)

• 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships as amended by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL 73/78) and Annex VI (i.e. 1997 Protocol to MARPOL and subsequent amendments) Note the focus on NOx and SOx. Recent measures designed to decrease CO₂ emissions  (Energy Efficiency Design Index and Ship Energy Efficiency Plan are not applicable to offshore hydrocarbon activities) and the fact that Annex VI applies solely to ‘platforms and drilling rigs engaged in voyages to waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of other Parties to Annex VI (Regulation 6(1)(b)). It does not apply to air pollution from offshore exploration and exploitation activities occurring from a fixed location.

g. Sequestration of carbon dioxide in geological formations

• 1972 London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by dumping of wastes and other matter (especially article 1)

• 1996 Protocol to the 1972 London Convention

• 2006 amendment to the 1996 Protocol to the 1972 London Convention (adopted by the 1^st COP)

• Specific Guidelines for Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Disposal into Sub-seabed Geological Formations, and Risk Assessment and Management Framework for CO₂Sequestration in Sub-seabed Geological Structures, adopted in 2007

• 2009 amendment to the 1996 London protocol  by the 4^th COP concerning the export of waste for dumping purposes (which amends article 6 of the London Protocol)

h. Biological pollution: Ballast Water Management and Biofouling

• 2004 International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediment

• 2011 Guidelines for the Control and Management of Ships’ Biofouling to Minimize the Transfer of Invasive Aquatic Species (MEPC 207(62))

i. Indonesia’s initiative to stimulate the establishment of a new regime

• Indonesia’s proposal for a new programme to develop an international regime addressing the liability and compensation, covering transboundary oil pollution damage caused by from offshore exploration and exploitation activities (Nov 2010)

• Indonesia’s update on the proposal (Nov 2012)

2.  Academic publications, working papers and presentations

16–21 November 2015 | Presentation by Denise Cheong, CIL Research Fellow
'The balance between legal and administrative measures – Singapore’s implementation of international conventions on marine spill contingency planning'
Presented at: EAS Congress 2015, Danang City, Vietnam

12 November 2015 | Presentation by Youna Lyons, CIL Senior Research Fellow
'Shared Resources in the South China Sea and the Management of Transboundary Environmental Risks'
Presented at: RSIS Maritime Security Programme Workshop on Assessing the Future Maritime Environment in Asia, Singapore

12 November 2015 | Paper Summary by Youna Lyons, CIL Senior Research Fellow
'Shared Resources in the South China Sea and the Management of Transboundary Environmental Risks'
Presented at: RSIS Maritime Security Programme Workshop on Assessing the Future Maritime Environment in Asia, Singapore

9–11 November 2015 | Presentation by Youna Lyons, CIL Senior Research Fellow
'Ocean Governance, Ocean Conservation and Ocean Industries'
Presented at: Sustainable Ocean Summit, Singapore

2016 | Book Chapter by Youna Lyons, CIL Senior Research Fellow
'Regulation of Offshore Hydrocarbon Exploration and Exploitation under International Law'
Published in: Robin Warner and Stuart Kay (eds), Routledge Handbook of Maritime Regulation and Enforcement (Routledge 2015), 193-211

2016 | Book Chapter by J Ashley Roach, Non-resident Fellow, Captain, JAGC, USN (ret), Office of the Legal Adviser, US Department of State (ret.)
'The Role of Global Organisations'
Published in: Robin Warner and Stuart Kay (eds), Routledge Handbook of Maritime Regulation and Enforcement (Routledge 2015), 86-105

7–11 September 2015 | Presentation by Youna Lyons, CIL Senior Research Fellow
'Towards a comprehensive framework for the designation of sensitive marine environments'
Presented at: 2015 Colloquium of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law, Jakarta, Indonesia

2015 | Book Chapter by Robert C Beckman, CIL Director
'State Responsibility and Transboundary Marine Pollution'
Published in: S Jayakumar, Tommy Koh, Robert Beckman and Hao Duy Phan (eds), Transboundary Pollution: Evolving Issues of International Law and Policy (Edward Elgar 2015), 137-161

2015 | Book Chapter by Youna Lyons, CIL Senior Research Fellow
'Transboundary Pollution from Offshore Activities: A Study of the Montara Offshore Oil Spill'
Published in: S Jayakumar, Tommy Koh, Robert Beckman and Hao Duy Phan (eds), Transboundary Pollution: Evolving Issues of International Law and Policy (Edward Elgar 2015), 162-189

27 April 2015 | Presentation by Denise Cheong, CIL Research Fellow
'National Ocean Environmental Contingency Plan in Asian Pacific States: The Singapore Perspective'
Presented at: Workshop on 'National Ocean Environmental Contingency Plan in Asian Pacific States', Busan, Korea

5 November 2014 | Presentation by Youna Lyons, CIL Senior Research Fellow
'Ballast Water Management Convention: D-1 and D-2 regulations and related compliance issues'
Presented at: Ballast Water Management Workshop, Pre-conference policy discussions, Singapore

31 July 2011 | Working paper by Youna Lyons, CIL Senior Research Fellow
'Offshore Oil and Gas in the SCS and the Protection of the Marine Environment, Part 1: A Review of the Context and a Profile of Offshore Activities'

31 August 2011 | Working paper by Youna Lyons, CIL Senior Research Fellow
'Offshore Oil and Gas in the SCS and the Protection of the Marine Environment – Part 2: Legal and Governance Framework'

2012 | Book Chapter by Youna Lyons, CIL Senior Research Fellow
'Transboundary Pollution from Offshore Oil and Gas Activities in the Seas of Southeast Asia'
Published in: Transboundary Environmental Governance in Inland, Coastal and Marine Areas, R Warner and S Marsden (eds), Farnham Ashgate, 2012

28 March 2012 | Presentation by Youna Lyons, CIL Senior Research Fellow
'Energy Extraction and Transportation'
Presented at: Maritime Safety and the Marine Environment workshop, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

21 September 2011 | Presentation by Youna Lyons, CIL Senior Research Fellow
'Marine Pollution from Offshore Activities' (environmental, socio and economic aspects)
Presented at: International Conference on Liability and Compensation Regime for Transboundary Oil Damage Resulting from Offshore Exploration and Exploitation Activities, Bali, Indonesia