* MARPOL 1973/1978
The official name of MARPOL is "the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto", which is widely known as MARPOL 73/78. Included in the Convention are six appendices for the prevention of pollution, labeled I to VI, dealing respectively with oil; noxious liquid substances in bulk; harmful substances carried by sea in packaged forms; sewage; garbage; and halon, freon, sulphur, nitrogen oxides and volatiles. Two of these six appendices, IV and VI, have not yet entered into force. In addition to regulations for the prevention of operational pollution, regulations were added to reduce pollution in the event of accidents. In the revision of 1992, structural requirements for double hulls in tankers were adopted. By a revision in 1991, the Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP) was adopted as compulsory.
* OPRC
Officially named the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation, 1990, this convention was adopted with the objective of minimizing the damage from large-scale pollution accidents involving ships, offshore structures, marine facilities and petroleum-related facilities. OPRC provides for wide-ranging international cooperation, including the exchange of information on each country's preparedness for pollution accidents; preparation of contingency plans for response to oil-pollution incidents; exchange of reports on major incidents that may be harmful to the marine environment, the coastal environments of various countries and their related economic ambiance; mutual support in research and development of prevention methods and promotion of international cooperation.
* UNCLOS
This umbrella convention, officially known as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982, is a comprehensive convention establishing laws to deal with all areas of marine pollution, concerning territorial waters, contiguous zone, the continental shelf, the high seas and the deep sea floor. The convention was deliberated at the third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, which was held from 1973 to 1982, and adopted in 1982. UNCLOS had not entered into force for long because a number of developed nations expressed dissatisfaction with the provisions of Part XI of the convention, referring to the development of the deep-sea floor. To break the impasse, the UN Secretary-General held a series of informal talks, at the end of which an agreement on revised rules was adopted in 1994 and became effective in the same year. Part XII of the convention establishes measures to protect and preserve the marine environment, and to prevent, reduce and regulate pollution of the oceans. UNCLOS recognizes flag state jurisdiction but supplements this concept by port state jurisdiction that enables states to prosecute vessels using their ports and terminals for offences committed anywhere at sea.
* SOLAS
SOLAS, officially called the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, establishes minimum standards for the construction, equipment and operation of ships to ensure the safety of persons at sea. Since the first SOLAS in 1914, technologies of shipbuilding and navigation have progressed markedly and large-scale accidents occurred successively, and the circumstances spurred the adoption of new treaties, protocols and amendments. A protocol of 1974 deals mainly with improvements to the safety of tankers and strengthening of the provisions for ship inspection, with a view to preventing marine pollution.
