(a) “Convention” means the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution, adopted at Barcelona on 16 February 1976 and amended on 10 June 1995;
(b) “Pollution incident” means an occurrence or series of occurrences having the same origin, which results or may result in a discharge of oil and/or hazardous and noxious substances and which poses or may pose a threat to the marine environment, or to the coastline or related interests of one or more States, and which requires emergency action or other immediate response;
(c) “Hazardous and noxious substances” means any substance other than oil which, if introduced into the marine environment, is likely to create hazards to human health, to harm living resources and marine life, to damage amenities or to interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea;
(d) “Related interests” means the interests of a coastal State directly affected or threatened and concerning, among others:
(ii) the historical and tourist appeal of the area in question, including water sports and recreation;
(v) the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of marine and coastal biological resources;
(e) “International regulations” means regulations aimed at preventing, reducing and controlling pollution of the marine environment from ships as adopted, at the global level and in conformity with international law, under the aegis of United Nations specialized agencies, and in particular of the International Maritime Organization;
(f) “Regional Centre” means the “Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea” (REMPEC), established by Resolution 7 adopted by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries of the Coastal States of the Mediterranean Region on the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea at Barcelona on 9 February 1976, which is administered by the International Maritime Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, and the objectives and functions of which are defined by the Contracting Parties to the Convention.
(a) to implement international regulations to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment from ships; and
2. In cooperating, the Parties should take into account as appropriate the participation of local authorities, non-governmental organizations and socio-economic actors.
1. The Parties shall endeavour to maintain and promote, either individually or through bilateral or multilateral cooperation, contingency plans and other means of preventing and combating pollution incidents. These means shall include, in particular, equipment, ships, aircraft and personnel prepared for operations in cases of emergency, the enactment, as appropriate, of relevant legislation, the development or strengthening of the capability to respond to a pollution incident and the designation of a national authority or authorities responsible for the implementation of this Protocol.
(a) the competent national organization or authorities responsible for combating pollution of the sea by oil and hazardous and noxious substances;
(b) the competent national authorities responsible for receiving reports of pollution of the sea by oil and hazardous and noxious substances and for dealing with matters concerning measures of assistance between Parties;
(c) the national authorities entitled to act on behalf of the State in regard to measures of mutual assistance and cooperation between Parties;
(d) the national organization or authorities responsible for the implementation of paragraph 2 of Article 4, in particular those responsible for the implementation of the international conventions concerned and other relevant applicable regulations, those responsible for port reception facilities and those responsible for the monitoring of discharges which are illegal under MARPOL 73/78;
(e) its regulations and other matters which have a direct bearing on preparedness for and response to pollution of the sea by oil and hazardous and noxious substances;
(f) new ways in which pollution of the sea by oil and hazardous and noxious substances may be avoided, new measures for combating pollution, new developments in the technology of conducting monitoring and the development of research programmes.
(f) new ways in which pollution of the sea by oil and hazardous and noxious substances may be avoided, new measures for combating pollution, new developments in the technology of conducting monitoring and the development of research programmes.
2. The Parties which have agreed to exchange information directly shall communicate such information to the Regional Centre. The latter shall communicate this information to the other Parties and, on a basis of reciprocity, to coastal States of the Mediterranean Sea Area which are not Parties to this Protocol.
The Parties undertake to coordinate the utilization of the means of communication at their disposal in order to ensure, with the necessary speed and reliability, the reception, transmission and dissemination of all reports and urgent information concerning pollution incidents. The Regional Centre shall have the necessary means of communication to enable it to participate in this coordinated effort and, in particular, to fulfil the functions assigned to it by paragraph 2 of Article 12.
1. Each Party shall issue instructions to masters or other persons having charge of ships flying its flag and to the pilots of aircraft registered in its territory to report by the most rapid and adequate channels in the circumstances, following reporting procedures to the extent required by, and in accordance with, the applicable provisions of the relevant international agreements, to the nearest coastal State and to this Party:
(a) all incidents which result or may result in a discharge of oil or hazardous and noxious substances;
(b) the presence, characteristics and extent of spillages of oil or hazardous and noxious substances, including hazardous and noxious substances in packaged form, observed at sea which pose or are likely to pose a threat to the marine environment or to the coast or related interests of one or more of the Parties.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 20 of the Protocol, each Party shall take appropriate measures with a view to ensuring that the master of every ship sailing in its territorial waters complies with the obligations under (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 and may request assistance from the Regional Centre in this respect. It shall inform the International Maritime Organization of the measures taken.
3. Each Party shall also issue instructions to persons having charge of sea ports or handling facilities under its jurisdiction to report to it, in accordance with applicable laws, all incidents which result or may result in a discharge of oil or hazardous and noxious substances.
4. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution Resulting from Exploration and Exploitation of the Continental Shelf and the Seabed and its Subsoil, each Party shall issue instructions to persons having charge of offshore units under its jurisdiction to report to it by the most rapid and adequate channels in the circumstances, following reporting procedures it has prescribed, all incidents which result or may result in a discharge of oil or hazardous and noxious substances.
5. In paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 of this Article, the term “incident” means an incident meeting the conditions described therein, whether or not it is a pollution incident.
6. The information collected in accordance with paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 shall be communicated to the Regional Centre in the case of a pollution incident.
7. The information collected in accordance with paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 shall be immediately communicated to the other Parties likely to be affected by a pollution incident:
(a) by the Party which has received the information, preferably directly or through the Regional Centre; or
In case of direct communication between Parties, these shall inform the Regional Centre of the measures taken, and the Centre shall communicate them to the other Parties.
8. The Parties shall use a mutually agreed standard form proposed by the Regional Centre for the reporting of pollution incidents as required under paragraphs 6 and 7 of this Article.
(a) make the necessary assessments of the nature, extent and possible consequences of the pollution incident or, as the case may be, the type and approximate quantity of oil or hazardous and noxious substances and the direction and speed of drift of the spillage;
1. Each Party shall take the necessary steps to ensure that ships flying its flag have on board a pollution emergency plan as required by, and in accordance with, the relevant international regulations.
2. Each Party shall require masters of ships flying its flag, in case of a pollution incident, to follow the procedures described in the shipboard emergency plan and in particular to provide the proper authorities, at their request, with such detailed information about the ship and its cargo as is relevant to actions taken in pursuance of Article 9, and to cooperate with these authorities.
3. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 20 of the Protocol, each Party shall take appropriate measures with a view to ensuring that the master of every ship sailing in its territorial waters complies with the obligation under paragraph 2 and may request assistance from the Regional Centre in this respect. It shall inform the International Maritime Organization of the measures taken.
4. Each Party shall require that authorities or operators in charge of sea ports and handling facilities under its jurisdiction as it deems appropriate have pollution emergency plans or similar arrangements that are coordinated with the national system established in accordance with Article 4 and approved in accordance with procedures established by the competent national authority.
5. Each Party shall require operators in charge of offshore installations under its jurisdiction to have a contingency plan to combat any pollution incident, which is coordinated with the national system established in accordance with Article 4 and in accordance with the procedures established by the competent national authority.
1. Any Party requiring assistance to deal with a pollution incident may call for assistance from other Parties, either directly or through the Regional Centre, starting with the Parties which appear likely to be affected by the pollution. This assistance may comprise, in particular, expert advice and the supply to or placing at the disposal of the Party concerned of the required specialized personnel, products, equipment and nautical facilities. Parties so requested shall use their best endeavours to render this assistance.
2. Where the Parties engaged in an operation to combat pollution cannot agree on the organization of the operation, the Regional Centre may, with the approval of all the Parties involved, coordinate the activity of the facilities put into operation by these Parties.
3. In accordance with applicable international agreements, each Party shall take the necessary legal and administrative measures to facilitate:
(a) the arrival and utilization in and departure from its territory of ships, aircraft and other modes of transport engaged in responding to a pollution incident or transporting personnel, cargoes, materials and equipment required to deal with such an incident; and
1. Unless an agreement concerning the financial arrangements governing actions of Parties to deal with pollution incidents has been concluded on a bilateral or multilateral basis prior to the pollution incident, Parties shall bear the costs of their respective action in dealing with pollution in accordance with paragraph 2.
2. (a) If the action was taken by one Party at the express request of another Party, the requesting Party shall reimburse to the assisting Party the costs of its action. If the request is cancelled, the requesting Party shall bear the costs already incurred or committed by the assisting Party;
(b) if the action was taken by a Party on its own initiative, that Party shall bear the cost of its action;
(c) the principles laid down in subparagraphs (a) and (b) above shall apply unless the Parties concerned otherwise agree in any individual case.
3. Unless otherwise agreed, the costs of the action taken by a Party at the request of another Party shall be fairly calculated according to the law and current practice of the assisting Party concerning the reimbursement of such costs.
4. The Party requesting assistance and the assisting Party shall, where appropriate, cooperate in concluding any action in response to a compensation claim. To that end, they shall give due consideration to existing legal regimes. Where the action thus concluded does not permit full compensation for expenses incurred in the assistance operation, the Party requesting assistance may ask the assisting Party to waive reimbursement of the expenses exceeding the sums compensated or to reduce the costs which have been calculated in accordance with paragraph 3. It may also request a postponement of the reimbursement of such costs. In considering such a request, assisting Parties shall give due consideration to the needs of developing countries.
5. The provisions of this Article shall not be interpreted as in any way prejudicing the rights of Parties to recover from third parties the costs of actions taken to deal with pollution incidents under other applicable provisions and rules of national and international law applicable to one or to the other Party involved in the assistance.