Signed into law by President John F. Kennedy on August 30, 1961
Oil Pollution Act of 1961, 33 U.S.C. Chapter 20 §§ 1001–1011, established judicial definitions and coastal prohibitions for the United States maritime industry. The Act invoked the accords of the International Convention for the Prevention of the Pollution of the Sea by Oil, 1954. The international agreement provided provisions to control the discharge of fossil fuelpollutants from nautical vessels on the high seas.
The International Convention for the Prevention of the Pollution of the Sea by Oil, 1954 original text was penned in English and French. The 1954 international agreement was amended in 1962, 1969, and 1971.[2][3]
Provisions of the Act
The Act emulated the subsequent formalities of the International Convention for the Prevention of the Pollution of the Sea by Oil, 1954.
Definitions
Discharge in relation to oil or to an oily mixture means any discharge or escape howsoever caused
Adriatic Zones - Within the Adriatic Sea the prohibited zones off the coasts of Italy and Yugoslavia respectively shall each extend for a distance of 50 miles (80 km) from land, excepting only the island of Vis.
North Sea Zones - The North Sea zone shall extend for a distance of 100 miles (160 km) from the coasts of the following countries:
but not beyond the point where the limit of a 100 miles (160 km) zone off the west coast of Jutland intersects the limit of the 50 miles (80 km) zone off the coast of Norway.
There shall be carried in every ship an oil record book. In the event of such discharge or escape of oil from a ship in a prohibited zone, a signed statement shall be made in the oil record book, by the officer or officers in charge of the operations concerned and by the master of the ship, of the circumstances of and reason for the discharge or escape.
Oil Record Book for Tankers
Date of Entry
I.) Ballasting of and discharge of ballast from cargo tanks
Identity numbers of tank(s)
Type of oil previously contained in tank(s)
Date and place of ballasting
Date and time of discharge of ballast water
Place or position of ship
Approximate amount of oil-contaminated water transferred to slop tank(s)
Identity numbers of slop tank(s)
II.) Cleaning of cargo tanks
Identity numbers of tank(s) cleaned
Type of oil previously contained in tank(s)
Identity numbers of slop tank(s) to which washings transferred
Dates and times of cleaning
III.) Settling in slop tank(s) and discharge of water
Identity numbers of slop tank(s)
Period of settling (in hours)
Date and time of discharge of water
Place or position of ship
Approximate quantities of residue
IV.) Disposal from ship of oil residues from slop tank(s) and other sources
Date and method of disposal
Place or position of ship
Sources and approximate quantities
Oil Record Book for Ships Other Than Tankers
Date of Entry
I.) Ballasting, or cleaning during voyage, of bunker fuel tanks
Identity numbers of tank(s)
Type of oil previously contained in tank(s)
Date and place of ballasting
Date and time of discharge of ballast or washing water
Place or position of ship
Whether separator used: if so, give period of use
Disposal of oily residue retained on board
II.) Disposal from ship of oil residues from bunker fuel tanks and other sources
Date and method of disposal
Place or position of ship
Sources and approximate quantities
Oil Record Book for All Ships
Date of Entry
Accidental and other exceptional discharges or escapes of oil
Date and time of occurrence
Place or position of ship
Approximate quantity and type of oil
Circumstances of discharge or escape and general remarks
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